NCSoft Achieves Record High Sales Last Year... 'Lineage W' Fills Gap of New Releases

Last Year's Sales 2.5718 Trillion KRW... Operating Profit Increased 49% to 559 Billion KRW
Mobile Game Sales 'All-Time High'... Lineage W Drives Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] NCSoft recorded its highest-ever annual revenue last year, surpassing 2.5 trillion KRW. Operating profit also increased by nearly 50% compared to the previous year. Despite the absence of new releases, the full reflection of the performance of the mobile game 'Lineage W,' launched at the end of 2021, drove the results.

On the 9th, NCSoft announced that its 2022 annual revenue reached 2.5718 trillion KRW, operating profit was 559 billion KRW, and net income was 452.6 billion KRW. Annual revenue increased by 11% compared to the previous year, achieving a record high. Operating profit and net income rose by 49% and 14%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Mobile games led the growth in performance. The revenue from 'Lineage W,' released in November 2021, was fully reflected, resulting in the highest revenue ever.

Annual revenue by product recorded 1.9343 trillion KRW for mobile games, a 20% increase from the previous year. ▲Lineage M 516.5 billion KRW ▲Lineage 2M 391.5 billion KRW ▲Blade & Soul 255.6 billion KRW ▲Lineage W 970.8 billion KRW.

PC online game revenue totaled 390.4 billion KRW. Guild Wars 2 saw a 29% increase in revenue compared to the previous year due to the release of a new expansion pack. ▲Lineage 106.7 billion KRW ▲Lineage 2 94.1 billion KRW ▲Aion 68.3 billion KRW ▲Blade & Soul 26.3 billion KRW ▲Guild Wars 2 95.0 billion KRW.

Looking at annual revenue by region, Korea accounted for 1.6246 trillion KRW, Asia 625.2 billion KRW, and North America and Europe 165 billion KRW. Revenue from Asia and North America/Europe grew by 40% and 44%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Royalty revenue was 157 billion KRW, increasing by 29% from the previous year and marking the highest revenue ever. It accounted for 37% of total revenue.

However, the fourth-quarter performance was sluggish. Fourth-quarter revenue was 547.9 billion KRW, operating profit 47.4 billion KRW, and net loss 16.5 billion KRW. Revenue and operating profit decreased by 28% and 57%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Net income recorded a loss due to foreign exchange-related non-operating losses caused by a decline in exchange rates.

NCSoft plans to launch the new PC and console title ‘THRONE AND LIBERTY’ globally in the first half of this year. It also plans to diversify its portfolio by sequentially releasing new intellectual properties (IPs) of various genres such as brawl-type battle action, collectible role-playing games (RPGs), and puzzles within the year.