Taekjin Hyung's New Action Project Declaration... "Blade & Soul 2, Overcame Technical Limits" (Comprehensive)

New Blade & Soul 2 Released
Attention on Whether It Will Escape Lineage Dependence
Expected to Generate 3 Trillion Won in Revenue if Successful

Riding on the success of last year's 'Lineage brothers,' NCSoft, which surpassed 2 trillion won in annual sales for the first time in history, has announced the release of a major new title this year and is gearing up for a 'level-up.'

Taekjin-hyung Unveils New Title 'Blade & Soul 2'

On the 9th, NCSoft CEO Kim Taek-jin held an online showcase as the head of game development and revealed NCSoft's new title, 'Blade & Soul 2 (B&S2).' CEO Kim stated, "We developed it aiming to reach the pinnacle of action," adding, "Through B&S2, players will experience a new kind of action that seemed almost impossible before." Pre-registration for B&S2 begins at 2 p.m. on the same day, and the game is scheduled for release within May.

B&S2 is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that continues the story of its predecessor released in 2012, featuring a new combat system as its strength. Users can explore a 3D world where every visible area is accessible, and combat can utilize all terrains and objects. CEO Kim explained, "We aim to create a new growth in action that cannot be seen in other games," and added, "We wanted to recreate the original fun of gaming, the story, and a world full of adventure that had been lost."

B&S2 is NCSoft's ambitious project for a quantum leap. The company's expectations are high enough that CEO Kim is personally involved in overseeing the game. He said, "By breaking through technical limits that were once thought impossible midway, we changed our dream from making a sequel to B&S into creating a completely new intellectual property (IP)." The industry is also keenly watching whether NCSoft can escape the shadow of Lineage with B&S2.

Can B&S2 Reduce Dependence on Lineage?

For years, NCSoft's core revenue source has been the Lineage IP. As of last year, the annual sales of the Lineage brothers, including PC games, amounted to 1.9585 trillion won. This includes mobile games Lineage M with 828.7 billion won, Lineage 2M with 849.6 billion won, PC game Lineage with 175.7 billion won, and Lineage 2 with 104.5 billion won. This accounts for over 80% of NCSoft's total sales (2.4162 trillion won).

Given the heavy reliance on the Lineage IP, NCSoft's concerns inevitably deepen. Although Lineage is currently on a successful run, there is no guarantee that its popularity will continue. Moreover, users have consistently raised complaints about probability-based item controversies and other issues. If 'Linjeossi' (middle-aged men who enjoy Lineage) turn away, it would be a critical blow to NCSoft.

In this situation, NCSoft's moves toward change are clear. Having had no new titles since 2019, NCSoft plans to diversify its revenue by releasing three new games this year, entering the console market, and expanding globally. Pre-registration for the new mobile game 'Pro Baseball H3' started the day before, and 'Trickster M' has been open for pre-registration since October last year. Lineage 2M is entering the Taiwanese and Japanese markets. Additionally, last month, NCSoft launched the K-pop entertainment platform 'Universe,' expanding its business into entertainment.

If the new titles succeed, NCSoft is expected to look beyond breaking the 2 trillion won sales mark toward a 3 trillion won sales era. Especially if B&S2 performs as well as Lineage 2M, NCSoft's net profit this year is projected to reach 1.3 trillion won. Securing an additional customer base in their 20s and 30s, beyond Linjeossi, is also a significant achievement. An NCSoft official said, "We expect B&S2 to have a sales curve similar to Lineage 2M," adding, "It was designed targeting a different customer base, and we anticipate many users in their 20s and 30s."

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