NC turns profitable in the third quarter due to MMORPG performance... Achieved annual sales goal early (comprehensive 2nd step)

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hwan = NC's sales and operating performance in the third quarter of this year increased significantly compared to the previous year due to the performance of 'Lineage Classic' and 'Aion 2'.

NC announced on the 11th that its operating profit in the third quarter of this year on a consolidated basis was provisionally calculated to be KRW 119.6 billion, turning into a surplus compared to the same period last year (operating loss of KRW 7.5 billion).

Sales amounted to 686.5 billion won, an increase of 90.7% compared to the same period last year. Net profit decreased by 94.2% to 20 billion won.

NC's cumulative sales as of the third quarter of this year were KRW 2.0144 trillion, growing 83% compared to the previous year, and early reaching the bottom of the 2026 sales guidance of KRW 2 trillion.

The proportion of sales by region is 46% in Korea, 34% in North America and Europe, and 20% in Asia. The proportion of overseas sales continued to rise for five consecutive quarters at 54%, and the global sales base expanded, centering on North America and Europe.

Lineage Classic's sales in the third quarter were KRW 158.7 billion, and cumulative sales for about 8 months after launch were KRW 427.8 billion.

Aion 2, which launched global service on October 5, also achieved a peak concurrent user count of 410,000.

From the start of early access on September 30th to November 10th, cumulative sales totaled 110.3 billion won.

Aion 2 Global's performance will be reflected in earnest in the fourth quarter performance.

Mobile casual sales increased compared to the previous quarter to KRW 171.9 billion, accounting for 25% of total sales.

Through an announcement on this day, NC raised its sales target guidance for 2026 to KRW 2.8 trillion, and presented its own estimate for 2027 from KRW 3.2 trillion to KRW 3.4 trillion.

NC plans to introduce 10 new games in various genres, including subculture, MMORPG, and shooting, to the global market by 2027.

At the performance announcement on this day, there were mixed reactions regarding the global success of 'Aion 2' and skepticism that NC's multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Throne & Liberty', which was released in 2022 but failed to settle in the market, was also an early success globally.

In response, CEO Park Byeong-moo said, “In the case of Aion 2, the retention of users who actually paid and hardcore users is much higher than that of TL, and we are continuously monitoring it.”

Regarding 'Aion 2' sales in Korea and Taiwan, it was 52.6 billion won in the third quarter, and most global sales were scheduled for the fourth quarter, so only 1.9 billion won was recognized in the third quarter."

Regarding the new game release timeline, he said, "We expect 'Astrae Oratio' to be released first in the first quarter, and one or two games will be released every month over the first and second quarters." He added, "There are third-party games, but there is also 'Cinder City' being developed in-house, so I personally hope that Cinder City will generate good sales."

Regarding the results of the 'Astrae Oratio' closed beta test (CBT), he emphasized, "The day one retention rate (revisit within 1 day after first accessing) is over 90%," and "We are quite confident as it is the best indicator among the test results we have tested."