NCSoft Outlines 2030 Plan: 5 Trillion Won Revenue, ROE Above 15%, Mobile Casual
NCSoft outlined its three-point growth plan at a 2026 management strategy briefing held at its Pangyo R&D Center in Seongnam on December 12. Co-CEO Park Byung-mu spoke alongside Anel Ceman, head of NC’s Mobile Casual Center, detailing the company’s mid- and long-term direction.
The company’s three core growth strategies are: elevate legacy IP, secure new IP, and position the mobile casual business as a new growth engine. Park said the past two years were about laying a foundation, and he framed the 2030 goal as reaching 5 trillion won in annual revenue with ROE above 15%.
On legacy IP, NC said it will continue to reinforce the value of its long-running titles, including Lineage, Ion, Guild Wars 2, and Blade & Soul. The plan calls for stronger operating systems, broader geographic reach, and spin-off projects to stabilize and grow revenue from these franchises.
For new IP, NC described a two-track approach that combines internal development with expanded publishing. The company has already secured a lineup of more than 10 internally developed titles and at least six publishing titles across genres such as MMORPGs, shooters, subculture titles, and action RPGs, with releases planned in phases. A governance framework, including a game evaluation committee, a technology evaluation panel, and a progress-tracking task force, is in place to ensure quality, market fit, and development timing.
NC’s mobile casual strategy positions the sector as a key driver of growth. The company notes that mobile casual games account for more than 30% of the global mobile game market. A Mobile Casual Center established in 2025 aims to build an ecosystem that unites development, publishing, data, and technology capabilities. Park highlighted that NC’s data analytics and live-ops expertise, combined with skilled personnel, are central to executing this growth.
Financially, NC reported revenue of 2.5 trillion won for the current year and meaningful operating profit, while outlining its longer-term targets: 5 trillion won in revenue by 2030 and ROE above 15%. Ceman outlined the mobile casual ecosystem strategy and the execution roadmap in more concrete terms.
The mobile casual drive rests on a five-stage process: concept testing across dozens of concepts annually, rapid prototyping, A/B testing with real users and data analysis, customer acquisition and project termination decisions guided by key metrics, and successful LiveOps for titles that prove viable. Ceman emphasized that decisions at every stage are data-driven, aiming for a highly predictable release and operations model.
NC has built a globally-oriented mobile casual network, with development studios and operations spread across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Korea, alongside platform-company JustPlay a recent acquisition to anchor the ecosystem. All studios feed into NC’s central data platform, enabling unified analytics for user acquisition, ROAS, LiveOps, creative optimization, and AI-enabled features. NC says this integrated approach should sustain rapid growth as the ecosystem scales across regions and genres.
For U.S. readers, the plan underscores a broader trend in the global gaming industry: leveraging established IP and data-driven live-service models to turn mobile casual games into enduring, cross-border hits. If successful, NC’s approach could influence how Western publishers collaborate with Korean studios, how mobile titles are developed and monetized, and how fast-moving live operations reshape competition in major markets, including the United States. The emphasis on a centralized data-driven platform and a diversified portfolio signals a push to compete more aggressively in global mobile gaming markets over the next several years.