NC reports 372.5 billion KRW operating profit last year, down 55% YoY (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] NCSoft announced on the 15th that it recorded consolidated sales of 2.3088 trillion KRW and operating profit of 375.2 billion KRW last year. These figures represent decreases of 4% and 55%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

In the fourth quarter of last year, sales rose 35% year-on-year to 757.2 billion KRW, while operating profit fell 30% to 109.5 billion KRW.

NCSoft explained that the decline in operating profit was due to increased operating expenses such as marketing and labor costs. Marketing expenses increased 122% year-on-year to 282.6 billion KRW, driven by intensified marketing activities related to new game releases. Labor costs rose 18% year-on-year to 849.5 billion KRW due to workforce expansion and performance rewards for new game launches.

Looking at annual sales by region, Korea accounted for 1.5752 trillion KRW, Asia 447 billion KRW, and North America and Europe 114.3 billion KRW. Royalty revenue was 172.4 billion KRW.

Annual sales by product showed mobile games generating 1.6105 trillion KRW. Specifically, Lineage M earned 545.9 billion KRW, Lineage 2M 652.6 billion KRW, Blade & Soul 254.4 billion KRW, and Lineage W 357.6 billion KRW.

PC online game sales were 134.1 billion KRW for Lineage, 99.7 billion KRW for Lineage 2, 74.9 billion KRW for Aion, 43.6 billion KRW for Blade & Soul, and 73.7 billion KRW for Guild Wars 2.

Notably, Lineage W achieved the best performance across all indicators among NCSoft’s games to date. Its main traffic continues to steadily increase. Aion’s sales rose 64% year-on-year, boosted by the launch of its classic server. Guild Wars 2 sales increased 21% year-on-year, reflecting anticipation for a new expansion pack. Annual overseas and royalty revenues grew 82% year-on-year.

NCSoft unveiled five new IPs yesterday, including TL, Project E, and Project M. These cover various genres such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), interactive movies, action battle royale, and collectible RPGs, targeting the global market. The company plans to engage users in diverse ways from the development stage and incorporate their feedback.

NCSoft aims to globally launch the console and PC title TL in the second half of this year. Lineage W is scheduled for release in Western countries including North America and Europe during the second half of the year.

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