[Click eStock] "NCSoft, Promising 'Aion 2' Performance... Target Price Raised"

Target Price Raised from 280,000 Won to 300,000 Won

On September 15, NH Investment & Securities raised its target price for NCSoft from 280,000 won to 300,000 won, citing a high probability of success for the new title "Aion 2." The investment opinion was maintained as "Buy."

Ahn Jae-min, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "The outlook for Aion 2, one of the most anticipated releases in the second half of the year, is positive, increasing the likelihood of its success. With the release date set for November 19, we have revised and raised our revenue estimates for 2026 and beyond based on the confirmed schedule."

NCSoft recently confirmed the launch date of Aion 2 as November 19 and revealed its detailed business model. Researcher Ahn stated, "It has been confirmed that the excessive monetization model, which gamers were concerned about, is not included. The released gameplay footage once again demonstrates that the graphics are at the highest level among current mobile games. The business model is also designed to be light, consisting of a membership pass, cosmetic items that do not affect character stats, and the sale of packages and consumables. This further increases the likelihood of the game's success."

NH Investment & Securities estimates Aion 2's initial daily revenue at 2.5 billion won (1.8 billion won in Korea and 700 million won in Taiwan), and forecasts 2026 annual revenue at 594.6 billion won (with a daily average of 1.63 billion won). Researcher Ahn commented, "Considering that Netmarble's 'Seven Knights Rebirth,' which ranked first in the domestic app store this year, and 'RF Online' achieved initial daily average revenues of 2.1 billion won and 1.9 billion won respectively, the estimated daily average revenue of 1.8 billion won for Aion 2 is fully attainable. Additionally, there is precedent for 'Lineage M' and 'Lineage 2M' recording first-quarter daily average revenues of 1.3 billion won and 700 million won in Taiwan. If Aion 2 receives a positive response from local users, achieving these targets should be feasible."

Although an operating loss is expected to continue in the third quarter of this year, the impact of underperformance is expected to be limited. Researcher Ahn stated, "NCSoft's third-quarter results are expected to show sales of 366 billion won, down 8.9% year-on-year, and an operating loss of 4 billion won. Since November, when the third-quarter results will be announced, is also the period when anticipation for the release of Aion 2 will be a key variable for the stock price, the negative impact of increased marketing costs and weak third-quarter operating profit on the share price will likely be limited."

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