Netmarble Corp., a South Korean game developer, said Thursday it swung to net profit in the third quarter on steady sales of its webtoon-based game title Solo Leveling: ARISE.

The company posted a net income of 20.6 billion won ($14.8 million) for the July-September period, shifting from a loss of 28.4 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

Operating income was 65.5 billion, compared with a loss of 21.9 billion won a year ago, while sales rose 2.6 percent to 647.3 billion won.

The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 51.7 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The company said the global popularity of Solo Leveling: ARISE, a game based on a South Korean webtoon, contributed to the improved performance in the third quarter.

The role-playing game, released in May, accounted for 13 percent of Netmarble's total third-quarter sales.

Netmarble said 43 percent of its quarterly sales came from North America in the third quarter, followed by 23 percent from South Korea, 13 percent from Europe and 8 percent from Southeast Asia.

The gamemaker said it plans to release King Arthur: Legends Rise in the fourth quarter and nine new titles, including Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, next year.