The Korean MMO company NCSoft has presented its figures for the second quarter of 2015: The struggling MMO WildStar has lost even more. Guild Wars 2, Aion, and Blade and Soul are doing well.
The Korean MMO publisher NCSoft is publicly traded and therefore regularly reveals its figures, unlike many other MMO companies. The business figures for the 2nd quarter of 2015 paint the picture we have known from Korea for quite some time. Especially the “oldie” in the stable is doing well: Lineage I has made significant gains compared to the last quarter. The Korean evergreen, significantly older than WoW, plays almost no role in the West.
Otherwise, almost all games have seen a slight increase: Aion (distributed in Europe by Gameforge), Blade and Soul, and also Guild Wars 2 reported an increase in revenue from April to June compared to the quarter between January and March. Only the struggling SF-MMO WildStar is once again looking at the TV screen. The numbers were already extremely weak, and the game has lost another 20%.
Most of these games have prospects. An expansion for Guild Wars 2 is expected to come out soon, which is highly anticipated. Blade and Soul is expected to finally come to the West by the end of the year. For WildStar, a transition to a Free2Play system and a port to China are on the horizon. There are also rumors of a partnership with Steam, but at the moment, it is still completely unconfirmed.
Compared to the 2nd quarter of last year, in 2014, almost all games have remained relatively stable, only Blade and Soul and Lineage I have made a significant jump upwards.
For WildStar, the 2nd quarter of 2014 was the release quarter, and revenues have decreased tenfold compared to then. This also means that NCSoft earned significantly less in the West in the 2nd quarter of 2015 than in the 2nd quarter of 2014.
