Kiwoom Securities assessed on the 4th that NCSOFT's new title 'Aion 2' is expected to be a hit. They maintained their investment opinion of 'buy' and raised the target price from 300,000 won to 330,000 won. NCSOFT's closing price on the previous trading day was 166,500 won.
Kim Jin-gu, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "The current global massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) genre is in an age where there is high demand but not enough proper games, and the company that sets the flag first will be the winner," suggesting NCSOFT as the most preferred stock in the sector.
Kim's assessment is that the potential for success of Aion 2, which will be released in the second half of the year, is high. Factors expected to contribute include ▲ a PC-centric build that allows for high-quality gaming experiences in mobile play ▲ the application of major technologies based on Unreal Engine 5, such as Nanite and Lumen, which enhance game build quality ▲ server separation that increases user options for player versus player (PvP) and player versus environment (PvE) play.
The fact that there are no competing titles is also positive. Kim pointed out, "The main competitor, Lost Ark, has seen a return of domestic user traffic to 2021 levels due to recent issues such as reduced gold value and depreciation of core assets in its economic system."
He added, "The MMORPG genre can trigger rapid depreciation from an economic system perspective, which can significantly hinder the preservation of asset value, thereby posing a major issue for revenue sustainability," analyzing that while there is room to reduce the PC billing model (BM) by releasing mobile new titles, the overall situation is not favorable.