NCSOFT Corporation, headquartered in Pangyo, South Korea, recently held its "2026 NC Management Strategy Forum" on March 12, 2026, at the NCSOFT Pangyo R&D Center located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. During this event, the company shared its ambitious roadmap for growth and a revenue target of 5 trillion won by 2030.
The focus of NCSOFT's growth strategy centers on three main pillars: enhancing legacy intellectual properties (IPs), discovering new IPs, and expanding into the mobile casual gaming sector. According to co-CEO Park Byung-moo, the past two years have served to establish a foundation for future growth, signifying a shift toward aggressive expansion.
The enhancement of legacy IPs is pivotal for NCSOFT. The company plans to bolster core values surrounding popular titles like "Lineage," "Tower of Aion," "Guild Wars 2," and "Blade & Soul." This initiative will involve refining operational structures, expanding service areas, and developing spin-off titles to create a stable revenue base.
Furthermore, to secure new IPs, NCSOFT is adopting a dual-track approach that focuses on enhancing internal development capabilities while also expanding its publishing operations. The company already boasts an impressive lineup of over ten in-house developed titles across various genres, including MMORPGs, shooting games, subculture titles, and action RPGs. Six additional publishing titles are also in the pipeline, with further details to be announced gradually. Through this diversity of genres and platforms, NCSOFT aims to broaden its reach across generations and regions. Starting in 2025, the company plans to implement several key committees focused on game evaluations and project management to ensure game quality and market appeal.
Recognizing that the mobile casual gaming segment accounts for over 30% of the global gaming market, NCSOFT has chosen this area as a new growth engine. A new mobile casual center will be established by 2025, creating a "mobile casual ecosystem" that integrates development, publishing, data management, and technological expertise. Park Byung-moo asserted the importance of combining NCSOFT's data analytics capabilities with experienced personnel to ensure success in the mobile casual sector.
NCSOFT also unveiled its plan to construct a predictable growth model with the financial target of achieving 2.5 trillion won in operating profit by 2026, ultimately aiming for 5 trillion won in sales and a return on equity (ROE) of over 15% by 2030.
Annel Chehmann, the center head of the mobile casual initiative, elaborated on the comprehensive execution strategy for this sector. The development will proceed through a five-step process that is firmly grounded in data-driven decision-making. This approach is designed to create highly predictable outcomes in both game releases and operations, ensuring that the entire operation remains agile and efficient.
These five steps include: conducting numerous concept tests annually, rapid prototype creation, implementing A/B testing with real users, judging large-scale user acquisition or cessation based on key metrics, and managing successful titles post-launch.
To successfully implement this strategy, NCSOFT aims to build a robust mobile casual ecosystem by strategically acquiring global development studios, such as Moving Eye, LIHUHU PTE. LTD., and Springcomes, which possess competitive advantages in the European, Southeast Asian, and Korean markets. Collaborations and acquisitions with platform companies like JustPlay GmbH are also part of this strategy to enhance the ecosystem’s core engine.
The studios involved will connect to NCSOFT's central data platform, facilitating user acquisition, ad efficiency analysis, operational support, and creative optimization with modern AI functions. This integrative approach will provisionally support studios at various stages of development.
Annel Chehmann stated that as the portfolio of games expands, sustainable growth becomes increasingly feasible. NCSOFT is confidently building a structured system to execute its mobile casual ambitions, ensuring readiness for rapid growth based on a solid data foundation.
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Note: The information presented in this article is based on the company’s press release dated March 12, 2026. Conditions may change due to unforeseen circumstances.
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