NC, Strong 2Q Performance with 'Lineage Brothers'... Aiming for 2 Trillion Club (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] The Lineage brothers remained strong. NCSoft succeeded in 'holding its ground' with its Q2 sales and operating profit this year, signaling a green light for achieving annual sales of 2 trillion won.

Strong Q2 Performance Thanks to Lineage Brothers

On the 13th, NCSoft announced Q2 sales of 538.6 billion won and operating profit of 209 billion won. These figures represent increases of 31% and 61% respectively compared to the previous year. Compared to the previous quarter, they decreased by 26% and 13% respectively.

Although NCSoft recorded lower sales and operating profit than in Q1, which posted record-high sales reflecting the launch effect of Lineage2M, the Q2 results still held up relatively well.

The mobile game sector showed remarkable performance. Mobile game sales reached 357.1 billion won. NCSoft's "Lineage brothers (LineageM and Lineage2M)" hold the 1st and 2nd places respectively in Google's revenue rankings. At one point, Lineage2M lost the 2nd place to Nexon's new mobile title "Baram-ui Nara: Yeon," but it reclaimed the spot and continues its upward trend. LineageM generated 159.9 billion won, and Lineage2M earned 197.3 billion won in sales.

For PC online games, sales were 34.3 billion won for Lineage, 25.8 billion won for Lineage2, 8.2 billion won for Aion, 19.8 billion won for Blade & Soul, and 15.6 billion won for Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars 2 saw a 25% increase in sales compared to the previous quarter due to an increase in the number of players and average playtime, while Lineage2 sales rose 21% year-over-year, maintaining solid performance.

By region, sales were 427.6 billion won in Korea, 24.1 billion won in North America and Europe, 15.1 billion won in Japan, and 9.5 billion won in Taiwan, with royalty revenue at 62.3 billion won. Royalty revenue increased by 21% year-over-year due to a large-scale update of LineageM in Taiwan.

Lineage2M Launches in Taiwan... Targeting Global Users

NCSoft is preparing to launch new titles in the second half of the year. The company is currently developing various games across PC, console, and mobile platforms, including Project TL, Blade & Soul 2, and TricksterM.

Lineage2M, which dominated the domestic market, will target the global market in the second half. Yoon Jae-su, NCSoft's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), confirmed the launch of Lineage2M in the Taiwan region during the earnings conference call. He added, "The goal is to expand the release regions starting with Taiwan in the second half and continuing through next year," explaining, "We are currently focusing on updates for a rebound in the second half and preparations related to the Taiwan launch."

Blade & Soul 2 is also scheduled for release within the year. Especially after winning the hearts of 'Lin Jussi,' NCSoft plans to target the younger generation this time. CFO Yoon said, "We are progressing as planned to release Blade & Soul 2 within the year," adding, "We aim to secure younger and trendier users in their 20s and 30s by reinterpreting Blade & Soul's action style into easy controls suitable for mobile, targeting a different demographic than existing Lineage customers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.