NCSoft soars, smaller game companies wobble

An image of Throne and Liberty (TL), a new massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) by NCSoft [NCSOFT]

 
Game companies reported mixed third quarter results as long-standing mobile game champion Lineage continue to top charts and new games struggled.
 
NCSoft, developer and publisher of the Lineage massively multiplayer online mobile game (MMORPG) franchise, reported an 83-percent jump in net profit during the July-to-September period compared to the same period last year thanks to its mobile games Lineage W, Lineage 2M and Lineage M.
 
Net profit for the third quarter came in at 182.1 billion won ($128.3 million), beating a 92.2-billion-won market consensus compiled by FnGuide. Revenue also surpassed analysts’ forecast, reaching 604.2 billion won, up 21 percent compared to the year before.
 
Mobile games accounted for 72 percent of revenue. Sales in Korea accounted for 62 percent in the third quarter, and grew 11 percent compared to the third quarter of 2021. But overseas revenue grew by 62 percent in Europe and North America and 48 percent in the rest of Asia, according to NCSoft.
 
The company will release a new PC and console MMORPG, Throne and Liberty (TL), in the first half of next year.
 
“We will cater to the global users, which means that the game is being developed differently from the typical MMORPGs in Asia to appeal to the global audience,” said Hong Won-jun, chief financial officer at NCSoft, in a conference call Friday morning.
 

An image of Krafton’s upcoming PC and console game Callisto Protocol to be released on Dec. 2 [KRAFTON]

 
Krafton, Korea’s largest game company based on market cap, reported a consensus-beating 226.4 billion won in net profit in the third quarter, up 27 percent compared to the previous year.
 
Revenue was 433.8 billion won, falling by 17 percent year on year and slightly under a 455.4-billion-won forecast by analysts. Mobile game revenue fell 26 percent, coming in at 282.4 billion won.
 
The decrease was mainly due to Battlegrounds Mobile India being blocked from the Indian game market since July 28. Local authorities cited security concerns, but media reports pointed to Krafton’s investment from China’s Tencent as the cause, amid political tensions building between India and China over a border conflict.
 
The company is working to resume services, but did not specify when they will be available again. Its new PC and console game Callisto Protocol will be released on Dec. 2.
 
“India is an important market to Krafton and local users are supporting our efforts to resume our services through social media,” said Chief Financial Officer Bae Dong-geun. “We are communicating with Indian authorities through various channels. We can’t jump to conclusions, but talks are taking place and we will update you on any specific developments when they’re made.”
 

An image of Summoners War: Chronicle, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) by Com2uS [COM2US]

 
Com2uS saw net profit decrease by 64 percent in the third quarter to 22 billion won due to increased marketing costs and employee wages, according to a press release on Friday.
 
The heavily marketed Summoners War: Chronicle contributed to a 65-percent jump in revenues to 186.2 billion won. The MMORPG was released on Aug. 16 in Korea and global service started on Nov. 10.
 
“Despite the good performance from our games, profit decreased due to the costs needed for releasing Summoners War: Chronicle in the domestic market and reinforcing engineering staff,” the company said in a press release.
 
Com2uS will release its Com2Verse metaverse service next year after a beta service offered to corporate clients during the first quarter of 2023. A general release date was not given.
 

An image of Seven Knights Revolution, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) by Netmarble [NETMARBLE]

 
Netmarble lost 277.5 billion won in net, its third quarter in the red after its mobile game Seven Knights Revolution, released July 28, failed to impress the market.
 
Revenues were on par with analyst expectations, coming in at 694.4 billion won, up 14 percent on year. Some 83 percent came from overseas, including 48 percent from North America.
 
“Seven Knights Revolution did not perform as well as we had hoped for, and the weakening won aggravated our underperformance,” the company said in a press release.
 
The company will present four new games at the G-Star 2022 game festival next week, including online shooting game Paragon: The Overprime and MMORPG Arthdal Chronicles. G-Star 2022 takes place from Nov. 17 to 20 at Bexco, Busan.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]