NC, 2Q 'Surprise Performance'... Building Momentum with 'Aion 2'

[Financial News] NCSoft succeeded in reversing the atmosphere with a 'surprise performance' of a 71% increase in operating profit in the second quarter. Major legacy IPs such as Lineage 2, Aion, and Blade & Soul (B&S) in the mobile and PC sectors succeeded in rebounding sales, leading to improved performance. The strategy of improving the constitution and expanding the global portfolio is also gradually showing results. NC aims to return to 2 trillion won sales through the release of the most anticipated work 'Aion 2' in the second half of this year and 7 new releases next year. Co-CEO Park Myung-moo expressed confidence in 'Aion 2', saying, "We will reduce excessive billing elements." This means that the game has been developed focusing on pure fun, breaking away from so-called excessive 'cash grab' inducing games.
■"Achieving 2 trillion won annual sales in 2026"
NCSoft announced on the 12th that it recorded consolidated sales of 382.4 billion won and an operating profit of 15.1 billion won in the second quarter. Operating profit increased by 71% compared to the same period last year and 189% compared to the previous quarter, exceeding market expectations. Sales also increased by 4% compared to the previous year. Although there was a net loss of 36 billion won due to exchange rate fluctuations, the profitability of the business activities itself improved. This performance is the result of stable performance of major titles and diversification of sales by region. PC division sales increased by 10% compared to the previous quarter to 91.7 billion won, and mobile sales increased by 6% to 219 billion won. 'Aion' grew by 53% compared to the previous quarter due to the effect of new servers, and 'Lineage 2M' increased by 27% due to expansion in Southeast Asia. The proportion of overseas and royalty sales is 36%, clearly reducing dependence on the domestic market.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Hong Won-jun said at the earnings conference call on the same day, "Starting with 'Aion 2' in Korea and Taiwan in the fourth quarter of this year, we will evenly release 7 new titles next year, including 'Breakers', 'Time Takers', 'LLL', and 4 spin-offs," and "If legacy IP expansion and new title sales are added, it is expected that sales of 2 trillion to 2.5 trillion won can be achieved next year."
■Confidence in 'Aion 2'... The biggest battleground
The biggest gamble for NC in the second half of this year is 'Aion 2'. 'Aion 2' is in the final stages of refinement based on feedback confirmed in the user focus group test (FGT) at the end of June. Co-CEO Park Byung-moo said at the conference call, "We have considerable internal confidence," and "Just as 'Squid Game' expanded the global influence of Korean content, the success of Aion 2 will have a positive ripple effect on next year's releases."
In particular, he emphasized that the existing 'initial billing-focused' pattern was broken in the revenue model (BM) design, which received various criticisms. Co-CEO Park said, "Instead of focusing on elements where players compete with each other, we will reduce excessive billing elements with a dungeon-centered design tailored to player experience and growth, and apply a product lifecycle (PLC) strategy to maintain a long-term user base through battle pass, customization, and skin sales," and "The key is to balance user scale and profitability."
In addition, NC is expanding its scope to the mobile casual genre. Recently, a mobile casual center was newly established, and Arnel Cheman, who has extensive global experience, was recruited as the center head. The strategy is to break away from the MMORPG-centric business structure, expand the global game portfolio, and secure new growth engines. Investments to strengthen global competitiveness, such as advancing large-scale MMO development capabilities and building a cluster of shooting and subculture genres, are also being continuously pursued. Co-CEO Park said, "Mobile casual is a strategic genre for global expansion," and "We are also planning a strategy to develop advanced businesses by combining AI technology. We will soon reveal detailed plans regarding the overall strategy related to mobile casual games."


yjjoe@fnnews.com Yoonju Cho Reporter