[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced on the 8th that it is maintaining its “Buy” rating on NCsoftCorporation(036570)but lowering its target price from 380,000 won to 320,000 won.

Ahn Jae-min, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “While traffic for the global version of ‘Aion 2,’ which officially launched on October 5, is solid, it is difficult to conclude that it has significantly exceeded market expectations.” He added, “With six new titles in the pipeline—including the 2027 blockbuster ‘Horizon: Steel Frontier’—the company’s performance in 2027 is worth watching.”
He highlighted *Aion 2* Global, predicting that its daily revenue would approach 1.2 billion won. Analyst Ahn noted, “*Aion 2* Global recorded a peak of 398,000 concurrent users on the day of its launch and currently stands at 200,000 as of 3:00 p.m. on October 7. “While this figure slightly exceeds the 336,000 peak concurrent users recorded by ‘TL’ (Throne and Liberty), which launched in September 2024, it falls somewhat short of meeting the high expectations for success—even though there is still time left until the weekend,” he pointed out.
However, he emphasized, “Since the monetization model is designed to be less aggressive than TL’s, we expect the retention rate of initial traffic to remain high. Considering that TL recorded total revenue of approximately 150 billion won during its first three months after launch, Aion 2 Global is projected to achieve 100 billion won in revenue over the first three months.”
For the third-quarter results, the firm projected revenue of 749.7 billion won (up 108.2% year-over-year) and operating profit of 106.9 billion won (a return to profitability), with operating profit expected to slightly exceed the market consensus of 92.9 billion won. Analyst Ahn stated, “While existing games are showing a gradual decline in revenue without any significant changes, Amazon Games has decided to directly publish ‘TL’—which it currently operates globally—starting in February 2027; consequently, a one-time settlement payment of 30 billion won from Amazon Games is expected to be reflected in the results.”
He added, “Revenue from *Aion 2 Global* is expected to be fully reflected starting in the fourth quarter,” and projected fourth-quarter operating profit at 147.6 billion won (+4,447.3%).