NCSOFT is making significant strides in expanding its mobile casual gaming business.
On October 19, the company officially launched its new mobile casual game, 'Planet Destroying Nyangnyang,' in six regions: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Philippines.
'Planet Destroying Nyangnyang' is a casual roguelike RPG developed by the domestic studio Super Rabbit Games. The publishing is handled by Veroplay, NCSOFT's mobile casual subsidiary established in April to serve as a global hub for mobile casual operations and publishing. This marks the first time NCSOFT has directly published a game from an external developer.
To diversify its business portfolio, which has been heavily focused on MMORPGs, NCSOFT has been expanding its mobile casual operations since the second half of 2024. In August of last year, the company established a dedicated organization called the 'Mobile Casual Center' and appointed Anel Cheman, a former executive with experience at global mobile game companies Triple Dot Studio and Outfit7, as its head. In July of this year, the center was elevated to a division directly under the CEO.
NCSOFT has also acquired three development studios: Vietnam's Lihuhu, South Korea's Springcoms, and Slovenia's Moving Eye. Lihuhu generates over 80% of its revenue from North America and Europe. Additionally, the company is in the process of building a platform, having acquired the German mobile casual platform company JustPlay through Veroplay.
JustPlay operates an advertising technology-based mobile casual rewards platform and services over 40 games. NCSOFT plans to enhance business efficiency by linking the games developed by each studio with user acquisition, data analysis, and operational technology on the platform.
Thanks to these efforts, NCSOFT's mobile casual business is increasingly contributing to its revenue. In the second quarter of this year, mobile casual revenue reached 169.7 billion won, accounting for 22% of total revenue. The company is also actively considering further mergers and acquisitions. NCSOFT co-CEO Park Byeong-moo mentioned during the second quarter earnings announcement, "We are preparing several mobile casual publishing projects and are continuing discussions on M&A opportunities that can create synergies."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.