Korean publisher GAMEVIL, which has surged on to the international market in the past few years on iOS and Android, are successfully making a transition other companies are finding difficulty with: free-to-play games and in-app purchases, as they’re making more money than ever thanks to leveraging these new moneymaking techniques on mobile.

The numbers don’t lie: GAMEVIL is growing massively, having made 16.6 billion KRW ($14.3 million USD) in revenue, and a net profit of 5.2 billion KRW ($4.5 million USD) for the first quarter of 2012. Their income grew 160% from the past year’s same quarter, and net profit grew 105%.

In-app purchases were a large part of their revenue: 91% of revenue was from these purchases, especially as their flagship franchises like Zenonia and Baseball Superstars have gone from being paid titles supported by in-app purchases, to being entirely funded by them. Third party titles published by GAMEVIL, such as IDEABOX’s Plants War, are also a fundamental part of their business, and many of them are free to play as well. In fact, 11 of GAMEVIL’s 16 games scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2012 are going to be developed by third-parties. They have a $10 million Partner Fund to help finance the development of these third-party titles.

GAMEVIL is making this transition as their business has seen a massive transition in the past few years. Where their games were once originating on feature phones in Asian markets, now 92% of their revenue comes from iOS and Android. As well, they’re shifting into the global market in a big way, as revenue from outside Korea grew by 473% year over year.

GAMEVIL has shown an ability to transition well in a market that is shifting regularly – and they have done this while simultaneously expanding their operation internationally. Other publishers have had difficulty shifting into the free-to-play space alone, while GAMEVIL is growing and adapting to multiple challenges at once.

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