[Click e-Stock] "NCSoft, New Game Launch... Stock Momentum Begins"

NH Investment & Securities Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] NH Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 1.4 million KRW for NCSOFT on the 16th. The company is considered the top pick in the gaming sector, with expectations that the release of new games at the end of this month will expand stock price momentum. If the new releases succeed, the stock price is expected to rise despite negative factors such as increased labor costs and issues related to probability-based items.

The most anticipated title this year, ‘Blade & Soul 2,’ is scheduled for release in May. It is expected to appeal to gamers with a charm different from the Lineage series. Jaemin Ahn, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, “As an oriental martial arts genre, it is less hardcore than Lineage and will gain popularity among a diverse range of users,” adding, “Three NCSOFT games are expected to rank 1st to 3rd in App Store sales.”

‘Trickster M’ is set to launch on the 26th. With over 4 million pre-registrations, the response appears better than expected. If it enters the top 10 in sales rankings, it is expected to contribute significantly to earnings.

‘Lineage 2M Taiwan & Japan’ is scheduled for release on the 24th. In Taiwan, pre-registrations exceeded 1.2 million within a week, raising expectations given the strong performance of Korean games such as ‘Lineage M,’ ‘Lineage 2: Revolution,’ and ‘Black Desert’ in the region.

With the success of new releases, negative issues related to the disclosure of probability rates for probability-based items and rising labor costs are expected to disappear. Gamers purchase game items regardless of whether probabilities are disclosed, and many users buy items even knowing the low probabilities. Researcher Jaemin Ahn stated, “Although the wage increase issue and the National Assembly’s efforts to revise laws on probability-based items have become more likely, most of these concerns will vanish with the success of new games.”

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