In the latest financial report from NCSoft for the second quarter of 2024, there are again some exciting details to read. The currently most important MMORPG of the publisher is being ignored once again like an unloved stepchild.
What are the insights from the new financial report? Below you will find the key findings from NCSoft’s financial report for the second quarter of 2024 (via ncsoft.com):
- The NCSoft executives are unlikely to be very happy with the financial results. Revenues are down 16 percent compared to the previous year, and operating profits have plummeted by 75 percent.
- Mobile game revenues have particularly taken a hit, falling by 13 percent compared to the previous quarter. The revenues from PC games also declined by six percent.
- The most successful PC game from NCSoft is currently Lineage, followed by Guild Wars 2, Lineage 2, Aion, and – lagging behind – Blade & Soul.
- The release of Aion 2 is still planned for 2025. Additionally, a new MMORPG based on a globally recognized IP is reportedly in development, set to be released in 2026 and utilizing Unreal Engine 5.
NCSoft has great ambitions with Aion 2, here is the trailer:
No word on Throne and Liberty
Isn’t an important game missing? As was the case in the last quarter, the NCSoft executives have again not revealed any numbers for the MMORPG Throne and Liberty, which started in Korea in December 2023.
Meanwhile, T&L is currently the hottest project from the South Korean game studio. Three months ago, this was interpreted as a sign that the publisher is currently dissatisfied with T&L’s performance. There have already been several measures to improve the situation:
- With Executive Director Choi Moonyoung, there is now a new head in the Throne and Liberty team.
- In July, there was a comprehensive overhaul of various features with the Leap update, as well as new content such as multi-level dungeons, life skills in fishing and cooking, and a new skill system.
- At the beginning of August, a large August update followed, which introduced a new rune system and the dungeon challenge “Dimensional Challenge” into the game.
Since NCSoft is not releasing any official numbers, it is impossible to say whether these measures have already had a noticeable impact on the success of Throne and Liberty. Sooner or later, after the worldwide launch on September 17, 2024, the publicly traded company will likely no longer be able to avoid presenting these results.
What do I need to know about Aion 2? The successor to Aion is set to take place 900 years before the first part, will be released for PC and mobile devices, and is expected to become NCSoft’s new flagship MMORPG. Accordingly, the team working on the project is quite large: An MMORPG with wings once rivaled WoW: Allegedly, 240 developers are now working on Aion 2
