Taekjin-hyung Launches Counterattack on Kakao's Odin with 'Blade & Soul 2'

'Odin' Holds 1st Place for 10 Days
"Generational Change Has Begun," Analysts Say
NC Prepares Counterattack with Ambitious New Release

Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft

Kakao Games' new mobile title, "Odin: Valhalla Rising," has maintained the number one spot for ten consecutive days, toppling NCSoft's "Lineage" dominance. NCSoft is preparing a counterattack with an ambitious new release.

According to mobile index data from IGAWorks on the 14th, Odin held the top position in revenue (combined Android and iOS) from the 4th to the 13th. NCSoft's LineageM has held the number one spot since its launch in June 2017, and with the release of Lineage2M in November 2019, the top two revenue rankings over the past four years were dominated by the Lineage series.

While new releases such as Netmarble's "The Second Country: Crossworlds" temporarily displaced the top spot before quickly recovering, this time was different. This has led industry analysts to suggest that a generational shift in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) has begun. Odin's user base is primarily composed of people in their 30s (34.92%) and 20s (28.8%), distinguishing it from NCSoft, which has maintained number one revenue with a core audience of 40-something "Linjuhssi" players. Additionally, Odin's female user ratio (29.8%) was higher than expected.

In the securities market, it is estimated that Odin's sales on its first day reached approximately 7 billion KRW. Sung Jong-hwa, a researcher at Ebest Investment & Securities, stated, "Odin's first-day sales far exceed the current daily average revenue levels of LineageM and Lineage2M," adding, "We are significantly raising our estimate for Odin's average daily revenue in Q3 from 1.86 billion KRW to 3.24 billion KRW."

NCSoft plans to counterattack with a new release. "Blade & Soul 2 (B&S2)," directly overseen by CEO Kim Taek-jin as the head of development, is expected to launch this summer. As the release date approaches, it is reported that CEO Kim is dedicating more effort to the final stages of development. In February, Kim held an online briefing to personally unveil B&S2.

B&S2 is an MMORPG that continues the story of the original game released in 2012, featuring a new combat system as its strength. Users can experience a three-dimensional (3D) world where they can explore every visible area and engage in battles utilizing all terrain and objects. CEO Kim said, "We aimed to reach the pinnacle of action in development."

B&S2 was originally scheduled for release in the first half of the year but was delayed somewhat due to remote work and other impacts from COVID-19. Some speculate that NCSoft is strategically adjusting the release timing. With major new titles like "Odin" and "The Second Country" launching last month, it is believed that staggering the release dates rather than launching simultaneously is more advantageous. Securities firms estimate that B&S2 could generate daily revenue of around 3 billion KRW upon release.

An NCSoft representative said, "Blade & Soul is one of NCSoft's flagship intellectual properties (IP). With few new releases currently, launching at the right time can meet user demands, so expectations are high."

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