[Click e-Stock] "NCSoft: Success of Five New Titles Key to Investment"

On July 14, Korea Investment & Securities stated that it is time to view NCSoft from a new perspective, as a variety of products are expected to be released on both PC and mobile platforms starting at the end of this year. The firm maintained its 'Buy' investment rating and set a target price of 280,000 won.

NCSoft's revenue for the second quarter was 359.4 billion won (down 2.6% year-on-year), and operating profit was 6.5 billion won (down 25.9%), which is expected to fall short of the market consensus (operating profit of 8 billion won). Jung Hoyoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, analyzed, "Including the highly anticipated Aion 2, about five new titles are scheduled to be released from the fourth quarter of this year through the first half of next year," and added, "Since the current lineup's revenue is very stable, the key to a stock price increase lies in the revenue contribution from these new titles."

Although the business environment is not very favorable, the likelihood of achieving targets is considered high. Jung explained, "The domestic MMORPG market has experienced negative growth over the past few years, not only due to user attrition but also because there have been no new titles to attract new users." He continued, "Given the massive influence of the Aion IP and the potential existence of pent-up demand among users for high-end MMORPGs, there is a high possibility that Aion 2 could achieve daily revenue of over 1.5 billion won."

There are also additional factors that could support a positive stock price trend. Currently, Lineage M (2026) and Lineage 2M (2025) are awaiting release in China after securing publishing licenses. Jung noted, "It is not easy to achieve strong results in the Chinese market, but since Lineage IP also has influence in China, there is a possibility of unexpected success." He also emphasized, "NCSoft is preparing to unveil next-generation blockbuster titles ahead of the Aion 2 launch, including two FPS games at Gamescom in August and the new subculture genre title Breakers at the Tokyo Game Show in September. This is another reason to expect sustained stock price growth."