NCSoft is expected to maintain a positive performance in the second half of the year, following a strong first quarter that exceeded market expectations. The company aims to continue its growth through a solid lineup of new releases and expansion into mobile casual gaming, building on the stable success of its legacy intellectual properties (IPs) like Lineage.
According to the gaming industry on July 30, NCSoft is diversifying its revenue structure, which has traditionally focused on massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The company plans to expand its casual gaming lineup through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and broaden its genre offerings to include subculture and shooting games. This strategy is seen as an effort to reduce reliance on the success of specific new titles.
NCSoft's strong Q1 performance was bolstered by the success of Aion 2, launched at the end of last year, and Lineage Classic, released earlier this year. Aion 2 has resonated with users in their 20s and 30s, while Lineage Classic has attracted players in their 40s and 50s, effectively capturing a diverse audience of PC MMORPG players.
According to the two major mobile app markets in South Korea, Lineage M reached the top of the revenue rankings following its 9th anniversary update on June 9. Although NCSoft introduced its own payment service for its PC launcher, reducing reliance on app market payments, it continues to maintain a stable user base and revenue.
The M&A efforts aimed at expanding the mobile casual business are also reflected in the company's consolidated results. Revenue from the companies NCSoft acquired last year, Lihuhu and SpringComs, totaled 35.5 billion won in Q1. Starting in Q2, the financial performance of the mobile casual platform JustPlay will also be included in the consolidated results, which is expected to further increase revenue.
JustPlay, an ad-based casual gaming platform, recorded approximately 248 billion won in revenue last year. According to NCSoft's Q1 earnings report, JustPlay's revenue increased by 76% compared to the same period last year.
In the second half of the year, NCSoft plans to launch new titles, starting with the global version of Aion 2 in September. The development team has stated that they will apply the same operational principles validated in South Korea to the global version.
Guild Wars 3 was unveiled last month at the global gaming event Summer Game Fest 2026. Developed by NCSoft's North American studio ArenaNet, Guild Wars 3 is the first official sequel to Guild Wars 2, which was released in 2012.
Given that Guild Wars has established a user base primarily in North America and Europe, the company believes it can expand its audience. NCSoft plans to gradually release information about Guild Wars 3 in the second half of the year and conduct testing next year.
New titles aimed at diversifying genres, including subculture games like Astrae Oratio and Limit Zero Breakers, are also in development. These projects are being created by external specialized developers, with NCSoft handling the publishing. Additionally, the company is preparing its own shooting game, Cinder City, along with the publishing title Time Takers.
With NCSoft exceeding market expectations in Q1, future performance is expected to hinge on the impact of its mobile casual business and the success of new releases in the latter half of the year.
Kim So-hye, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, set a target price of 350,000 won, stating, "This is the time to increase holdings ahead of the global new title release momentum."
Kim Dong-woo, a researcher at Kyobo Securities, also set a target price of 375,000 won. He noted that NCSoft has a profit growth story in place until next year, stating, "The company is reducing its reliance on the success of new titles through M&A while maintaining the momentum of new releases."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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