It looks like NCSoft – the publishers behind such MMOs like Blade & Soul, Lineage 2, Guild Wars 2, and more – posted a 30% sales drop for Q1 this year in addition to other income losses.
Sales totaled 512.5 Billion KRW down from 731.1 Billion KRW which resulted in this 30% year over year decrease. NCSoft also reported operating profits down 77% year on year. Net income was down 59% year on year, with pre-tax income down 64% year on year.
Quarter on quarter, Net income actually appeared flat and seemed stable. But it’s clear that, compared to FY2020, NCSoft net income has taken a significant hit. Mobile games like Lineage M, and Lineage 2M both saw fewer sales year on year.
In the PC space, games like Aion actually experienced increased year on year sales, as did Guild Wars 2, and Lineage. However, Lineage 2 and Blade & Soul saw a sales deficit year on year. From a regional perspective, North American and EU actually grew year on year as did Taiwan and Japan. But Korea, by far the largest market for NCSoft by sales, shrank considerably. NCSoft attributes this to large scale mobile game updates.
From a cost breakdown, operating expenses were up 13% quarter on quarter, but down 7% year on year. Labor cost increased 26% quarter on quarter due to an increase in headcount, regular incentives, and special bonuses. Marketing was also up 23% quarter on quarter which was attributed to advertising for new titles.
You can check out the full earnings report here.
Ta, MMO Fallout.
The War Within Hotfixes - 25 March
The War Within Hotfixes - March 25
