[Click eStock] "Nexon Games, First Descendant Hits Big... Target Price Up"

On the 2nd, Samsung Securities raised the target price for Nexon Games by 32%, from the previous 28,000 KRW to 37,000 KRW, stating that "although the stock price has recently surged, earnings estimates are being revised upward even faster, so there is sufficient room for further stock price increases." The buy rating was also maintained.

On the same day, Samsung Securities researcher Odonghwan said, "Reflecting the update performance and the trend of prolonged sales, the estimated daily average for the third quarter of this year was raised from 2 billion KRW to 2.5 billion KRW, and operating profit estimates for this year and next year were increased by 38% and 42%, respectively."

In particular, Nexon Games' First Descendant reclaimed the number one spot on the PC game platform Steam through the update of new successors (characters). Researcher Oh stated, "On the 31st of last month, the first update was conducted, releasing new successors Luna and Ultimate Balvi, adding new ultimate weapons and bosses to encourage user spending," adding, "As a result, the Steam sales ranking, which had dropped to 8th place, rose to 1st place the day before."

First Descendant adopted a partial pay model centered on monthly subscription fees and character sales instead of package sales, which concentrate early sales. After the Season 1 and 2 updates scheduled for the end of this month and the end of December, continuous content provision is planned to extend the sales lifespan. Researcher Oh said, "This laid the foundation for prolonging the sales lifespan," and added, "Due to the nature of role-playing games (RPGs), continuous content updates are essential for long-term sales. The company plans monthly successor updates and large-scale content updates every quarter."

Meanwhile, Nexon has been making long-term investments for global Steam and console platform expansion for several years, and Nexon Games, as Nexon's main developer, plays a crucial role in Nexon's global strategy.