After NCsoft was established, it opened the era of 2 trillion in sales for the first time. It was found that mobile game sales such as’Lineage M’and’Lineage 2M’ accounted for more than half, driving growth.
This year, the company is eager to see whether it will break the record again as it releases successively anticipated titles such as’Blade & Soul 2’and’Trickster M’.
On the 5th, NCsoft (CEO Kim Taek-jin) announced that it recorded sales of 2.42 trillion won, operating profit of 824.8 billion won, and net profit of 585 billion won through an announcement of the annual results for 2020.
This record is a 42% increase in sales, 72% in operating profit, and 63% in net profit compared to the same period last year.
Mobile Lineage brothers Lineage M and Lineage 2M drive growth
The mobile games Lineage M and Lineage 2M led NCsoft’s sales of 2 trillion won.
According to the company, last year, Lineage M sales amounted to 8287 billion won and Lineage 2M sales amounted to 849.6 billion won, proving that it is NCsoft’s cash cow (cash source).
In particular, last year’s mobile game sales grew 72% year-on-year thanks to the launch of Lineage 2M. Lineage 2M has been competing with its sibling game Lineage M for the No. 1 position in Google sales since its launch in November 2019.
Above all, it is meaningful that Lineage M sales have remained solid even after Lineage 2M was launched, the company explained.
In addition, PC online game sales recorded KRW 177.5 billion for Lineage, KRW 14.5 billion for Lineage 2, KRW 45.6 billion for Aion, KRW 72.2 billion for Blade & Soul, and KRW 61.2 billion for Guild Wars.
New Blade & Soul 2 Trickster M ready to be released…Lineage 2M ahead of overseas expansion
NCsoft is also trying to change and grow this year. Attempts to grow the company by launching new works and expanding overseas service areas are key.
The new works that this company will release in the first half are Blade & Soul 2 and Trickster M.
Blade & Soul 2 and Trickster M are the next games that inherited the PC game Blade & Soul and Trickster IP respectively. Trickster M is expected to be released in the first quarter as early as the first quarter, and Blade & Soul 2 in the first and second quarters.
The number of advance reservations for Trickster M exceeded 3 million as of November last year, raising expectations for the box office early. Blade & Soul 2 will start pre-booking on the 9th and start preparing for full-scale release.
The details of Blade & Soul 2 will be revealed through an online showcase at 10:00 am on the day of advance reservation.
Lineage 2M, which was a hit in Korea, will be released in Taiwan and Japan in the first quarter of the first quarter. This game is attracting attention whether it will drive overseas sales growth in Korea.
Some in the industry predicted that NCsoft could record the first 1 trillion won in operating profit this year. This is due to expectations for Lineage 2M’s overseas expansion and the effect of launching new titles. This is why we have to watch whether NCsoft will show surprise report cards this year following last year.
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“Last year’s flagship mobile game has achieved remarkable growth,” said Jang-wook Lee (Executive Vice President) of NCsoft’s IR Department. “Last year’s achievements continue to develop through various attempts and changes.” It is the result of innovation and innovation. Thank you for your warm support and interest.”
“The executives and employees are planning to do their best for another leap forward. We are launching Lineage 2M in Taiwan, Japan this year. Trickster M and Blade & Soul 2 in the first quarter are ready for domestic and international release after reservation on February 9,” “We are in the process of developing a number of console games. We are also preparing for a strong IP expansion. The game portfolio is thick and diverse,” he added.