As part of the financial report for the fourth quarter of 2024, NCSoft disclosed plans for the deadlines for the release of new games. It became known that MMORPG Aion 2 will be released first in South Korea and Taiwan in the second half of 2025, and the global version will linger for a short time.
According to the company representative, the game will have content focused on both Korea and Taiwan players and the global audience. However, the company has concerns about the simultaneous release. Therefore, before launch in North America and Europe, the game will receive a number of changes. This decision was made on the basis of the experience of the global version of Mmorpg Throne and Liberty, where the developers clearly saw the differences between Korean/Taiwanese players and “Western” players.
In addition, NCSoft is sure that the game will be able to succeed in the highly competitive market of South Korea and Taiwan. In recent years, many games have been published in these countries that resemble mobile versions of Lineage M and Lineage 2M, but Aion 2 will offer new game experience and thereby attract the attention of the audience. The beginning of the marketing campaign is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025: we will find new information and building work with the community.
Recall that in the MMORPG Aion 2, a large emphasis has been placed on the PVE content, cooperative passage and development. The game will differ from previous cross -platform projects with design, combat system, monetization model and marketing strategy.
As for the other games of the company, then:
- The release of the Lall shooter is scheduled for the second half of 2025. Testing with the involvement of the focus group will take place in the second quarter, and after it will begin closed testing with the involvement of the general public.
- Online strategy Tactan: Knights of the Gods does not have a large user base, and at the same time this genre requires high marketing costs. Therefore, discussions are held on launching and consulting with the publisher. The release dates will become known in the first or second quarter of 2025.
- Thanks to internal developments and investments in other companies, NCSoft plans to release 6 shooters in the next two years. All of them differ among themselves and focus on different aspects: PVP, Pve, MMO.
- The global version of Mmorpg Throne and Liberty has attracted more than seven million users.
- The income from the MMORPG Blade & Soul in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased 4 times amid the launch of the Neo servers.
- Mmorpg Guild Wars 2 showed an increase in quarterly revenue by 30% due to the launch of the fifth major addition of Janthir Wilds in August 2024.
The financial results of the company for 2024 turned out to be modest, but not so much tragic as they could be against the background of large -scale restructuring: annual revenue fell 11% compared to 2023. The main reason was a fall in sales of mobile games by 22%, and the leaders in the fall were: Lineage 2M, Lineage W, Blade & Soul 2. PC games earned only 2% less than a year earlier, and such games as Lineage, Blade & Soul , Guild Wars 2 and even showed a little growth.
The increase in expenses in the fourth quarter is associated with the payment of compensation to employees that they left NCSoft during restructuring. The company’s staff was reduced by 1900 people, of which more than 1000 – transferred to subsidiaries, about 900 – left the company. As a result, on February 1, 2025, 3,100 people work directly in the maternal company.
