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Native name | 엔씨소프트 |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| KRX:036570 | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 11 March 1997; 28 years ago (1997-03-11) |
| Founder | Kim Taek-jin |
| Headquarters | Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea |
Key people | Kim Taek-jin (CEO) |
| Products | See complete list of products |
| Revenue |
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| Total assets |
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| Owner |
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Number of employees | 3100 |
| Website | nc |
| Footnotes / references [2][3] | |
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NCSoft Corporation (stylized asNC, formerly stylized asNCSOFT;Korean:엔씨소프트) is a South Koreanvideo game developer and publisher headquartered inPangyo, Seongnam, South Korea, primarily known for the distribution ofmassively multiplayer online role-playing games such asLineage andGuild Wars.[4]
NCSoft was founded in March 1997 byKim Taek-jin. In September 1998, NCSoft launched its first gameLineage. In April 2001 the company created a US subsidiary under the name NC Interactive (based inAustin, Texas, and would later become NCSoft West) after acquiringDestination Games, headed byRichard Garriott andRobert Garriott.[5] In 2004, NCSoft launched two MMORPGs,Lineage II andCity of Heroes.[6].In December 2023, NCsoft released the MMPRPG ‘Throne and Liberty’.[7]
The company formed NCSoft Europe in July 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary with its main office inBrighton, England. They broughtCity of Heroes to several European countries on February 4, 2005, and have since established European service forWildStar andBlade & Soul as well.[8]
On April 26, 2005, NCSoft published Arenanet's first MMO Guild Wars Prophecies as well as Arenanet's follow up campaigns Factions and Nightfall and the expansion Eye of the North. NCSoft also published Guild Wars 2 but stopped being the publisher for Guild Wars 2 in 2015 with the release of Heart of Thorns.[9]
On September 10, 2008, NCSoft announced the formation of NCSoft West, a subsidiary which manages NCSoft's other western organizations, and established its headquarters for that subsidiary in Seattle, Washington.[10] On July 28, 2021, NCSoft announced that it was adding the talents of long-time video game industry veteranJeffrey Anderson (game designer) to its executive leadership team as the new CEO of NCSoft West, overseeing its games business in theAmericas,EMEA, andOceana regions.[11]
On July 8, 2011, NCSoft started talks withSK Telecom to acquire Ntreev Soft Co., Ltd.[12] The talks were expected to last less than a month, but it took seven for NCSoft to complete the acquisition; purchasing 76% of Ntreev's stock for ₩108 billion (US$96.7 million) on February 15, 2012.[13]
In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based inSeoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such asDark Shrine.[14]
In June 2012, NCSoft launchedBlade & Soul, their firstMMORPG sinceAion launched in 2008.[15]
In 2012Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.[16] Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015.[17]
On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based in San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.[18]
On August 21, 2020, NCSoft entered the Korean entertainment industry by launching a new subsidiary called "Klap Co., Ltd."[19] Klap and NCSoft launched the entertainment platformUNIVERSE on January 28, 2021.[20]
In March 2022, thePublic Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia acquired a 9.26 percent stake in NCSoft, becoming the company's second largest shareholder after Kim Taek-jin.[1][21]
In November 2023, NCSoft announced that it had signed a strategic partnership withSony Interactive Entertainment.[22] On January 18, 2024, NCSoft wound down and laid off all 70 employees of itsNtreev Soft subsidiary.[23]
NCsoft received theChinese government’s approval for their online games on October 25, 2024.[24][25]
On April 27, 2007,Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCSoft are suspected of selling theLineage IIIsource code to a major Japanese game company.[27] According to NCSoft, the potential damages may exceedUS$1 billion.[28]
Worlds.com CEO Thom Kidrin claimed the idea of a "scalable virtual world with thousands of users" is patented by his organization[29] and targeted NCSoft forpatent infringement in 2008,[30] in what he says will be the first of many lawsuits against MMO developers.[29] On April 23, 2010, the Worlds.com case settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential.[31] On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.[32]
Richard Garriott, lead developer of the failed MMORPGTabula Rasa, sued NCSoft forUS$24 million in damages concerning his termination from the company. Garriott asserted in his suit that he was forced out of the company and was made to sell his 400,000 shares in NCSoft's stock, costing him millions of dollars. In addition, he claimed that the company was guilty of fraud byforging his resignation announcement.[33] On July 30, 2010, a jury in aTexas federal court awarded himUS$28 million in damages. NCSoft described Garriott as someone "who keeps finding different ways to turn the company into his personal ATM," and that "Garriott left the company voluntarily to catch his ride to the International Space Station." Citing his questionable work ethic and the failure of his video game project despite an $84.4 million investment, NCSoft pulled the plug on the game after which Garriott announced he would be leaving the company. This came after he boarded a much-publicized news on his boarding of a Russian aircraft, which cost $30 million.[34] Garriott again prevailed on appeal and NCSoft was required to pay an additionalUS$4 million, bringing the total damages awarded to Garriott toUS$32 million.[35]
On August 31, 2012, NCSoftliquidated Paragon Studios and announced the closure ofCity of Heroes. Over 21,000 players signed an online petition contesting the shut-down[36] and many used social media to promote their criticisms.
In 2024, NCSoft underwent significant restructuring in South Korea to tackle its financial challenges. The process began with the closure of its subsidiary,Ntreev Soft, leading to the layoff of 70 employees in January 2024 after enduring an 11-year deficit. Consequently, the development and service ofTrickster M,Pro Baseball H2, andPro Baseball H3 were terminated.[37] On October 21, 2024, NCSoft declared the main branch's overhaul, which includes the formation of new teams into four business divisions, scheduled to be established as official subsidiaries on February 1, 2025.
In the wake of its restructuring, NCSoft will disband the remaining teams that have not been restructured and halt their projects. This includes the cancellation of the single-player action-adventure RPGProject M and the cessation of the newly released gameBattle Crush. Additionally, the company will conduct staff layoffs and introduce a voluntary retirement program for its employees.[38]
| Year | Title | Developer | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Lineage | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | MMORPG | |
| 2003 | Lineage II | NCSoft | MMORPG | |
| 2004 | City of Heroes | Paragon Studios | MMORPG | Shut down on November 30, 2012. On January 4, 2024 Homecoming Servers had announced they'd been given a limited license[39] to run their server. |
| 2005 | Guild Wars | ArenaNet | MMORPG | |
| 2006 | Auto Assault | NetDevil | MMORPG | Shut down on August 31, 2007. |
| 2007 | Dungeon Runners | NCSoft | MMORPG | Shut down on January 1, 2010. |
| Tabula Rasa | Destination Games | MMORPG | Shut down on February 28, 2009. | |
| Exteel | NCSoft (E&G Studios) | TPS | Shut down on September 1, 2010. | |
| 2008 | Point Blank | Zepetto | FPS | Shut down on July 13, 2011. |
| 2009 | Aion | NCSoft (Team Aion) | MMORPG | |
| 2011 | Gem Keeper | NCSoft | Tower defense | |
| 2012 | Blade & Soul | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | MMORPG | |
| Guild Wars 2 | ArenaNet | MMORPG | ||
| 2013 | Shin Jan Ryu Mon | NCSoft Japan | Mahjong | |
| 2014 | WildStar | NCSoft (Carbine) | MMORPG | Shut down on November 30, 2018. |
| 2016 | Love Beat | CrazyDiamond | Dance/Rhythm | |
| Lineage Red Knight | NCSoft | RPG | ||
| 2017 | Final Blade | NCSoft | RPG | |
| Pro Baseball H2! | NTREEV (Baseball Team) | Sport | Shut down on March 2024 | |
| Master X Master | NCSoft (Studio MXM) | MOBA | Shut down on January 31, 2018. | |
| Lineage M | NCSoft | MMORPG | ||
| Aion | NCSoft | RPG | ||
| 2019 | Lineage II M | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | RPG | |
| 2020 | FUSER | Harmonix | Rhythm | Shut down on December 19, 2022 |
| 2021 | Pro Baseball H3! | NTREEV (Baseball Team) | Sport | Shut down on March 2024 |
| Trickster M | NTREEV (Trickster Team) | MMORPG | Shut down on March 2024 | |
| Blade & Soul 2 | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | MMORPG | ||
| Lineage W | Studio W | MMORPG | ||
| 2024 | Battle Crush | NCSoft | Action, brawler | Shut down on November 29, 2024 |
| Throne and Liberty | FirstSpark Games | MMORPG | Published in the West and Japan byAmazon Games | |
| Blade & Soul Heroes | NCSoft | Strategy RPG | Known as Hoyeon in Korea, and Go-en in Japan. | |
| 2025 | AION 2 | NCSoft (Team Aion) | MMORPG | [40] |
| TBA | Cinder City | BigFire Games | MMO TPS | |
| Time:Takers | Mistil Games | MMOTPS | [41] | |
| Limit Zero Breakers | Vic Game Studios/Kadokawa | RPG | [42] | |
| Horizon Steel Frontiers | NCSoft/Guerrilla Games/PlayStation Studios XDev | MMORPG | Under exclusive license fromSony Interactive Entertainment[43] | |
| Project E | FirstSpark Games | MMORPG | ||
| TACTAN | Ludius Games | MMORPG | ||
| Blade & Soul Console | NC Interactive (NCWEST) | Action MMORPG |
In addition, NCSoft is also the developer and maintainer of a variety of web-basedboard games in Asian markets.
