NC's 'TricksterM' on a Hit Streak... Expectations Rise for Diversified Revenue Structure↑

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The whirlwind success of NCSoft's new mobile title, 'TricksterM,' is remarkable. Showing high revenue performance on both major app markets, it is raising great expectations for NCSoft, which had been deeply concerned about 'diversifying its revenue structure.'

According to NCSoft on the 30th, the mobile MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) TricksterM achieved the number one spot in popularity rankings on both major app markets, Apple App Store and Google Play Store, just one day after its release on the 21st. It continues to maintain solid performance, currently ranking third in Google Play's revenue category.

TricksterM is a new title developed using the IP (Intellectual Property) of the original PC game 'Trickster.' Users can enjoy Trickster's unique 'drill action' and the nostalgic 2D pixel art style on mobile devices.

In particular, the success of TricksterM brings significant hope to NCSoft, which recently experienced a decline in revenue. NCSoft recorded sales of 512.5 billion KRW and an operating profit of 56.7 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. These figures represent decreases of 29.9% and 76.5%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Both sales and operating profit declined year-on-year.

The performance of NCSoft's core revenue sources, the 'mobile Lineage siblings,' was also sluggish. In the first quarter, 'Lineage M (172.6 billion KRW)' and 'Lineage 2M (152.2 billion KRW)' generated total sales of 324.8 billion KRW, a sharp drop from 553.1 billion KRW in the first quarter of last year. Sales decreased by 18.5% and 55.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The poor performance of the Lineage IP, which accounts for over 80% of the company's revenue, led to the overall decline in results. In this regard, the success of TricksterM is seen as a stepping stone for NCSoft to break away from its revenue structure dependent on Lineage.

Additionally, there are expectations that the revenue share of Lineage will significantly decrease this year with the release of 'Blade & Soul 2' scheduled for the second half of the year. Especially, Blade & Soul 2 has high company-level expectations, with CEO Kim Taek-jin personally holding an online showcase to introduce the game.

If these games continue to succeed one after another, there are forecasts that NCSoft could enter the era of annual sales reaching 3 trillion KRW.

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