NCSoft
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Native name | 엔씨소프트 |
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Type | Public |
KRX: 036570 | |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 11 March 1997 |
Founder | Taek Jin Kim |
Headquarters | Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea[1] |
Key people | Taek Jin Kim (CEO) |
Products | See complete list of products |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Owner |
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Number of employees | 3100 (including 16 global subsidiaries, as of Dec 31, 2015) |
Website | http://www.ncsoft.com/ |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/T.J._Kim_%28the_CEO_of_NC_Soft%29_from_acrofan.jpg/220px-T.J._Kim_%28the_CEO_of_NC_Soft%29_from_acrofan.jpg)
NCSoft Corporation (Korean: 엔씨소프트, stylized as NCSOFT) is an international video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea, primarily known for the distribution of massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as Lineage and Guild Wars.
History[]
NCSoft was founded in March 1997 by T.J. Kim. In September 1998, NCSoft launched its first game Lineage. In April 2001 the company created a US subsidiary under the name NC Interactive (based in Austin, Texas, and would later become NCSoft West) after acquiring Destination Games, headed by Richard Garriott and Robert Garriott.[4] In 2004, NCSoft launched two MMORPGs, Lineage II and City of Heroes.[5]
The company formed NCSoft Europe in July 2004 as a wholly owned subsidiary with its main office in Brighton, England. They brought City of Heroes to several European countries on February 4, 2005, and have since established European service for WildStar and Blade & Soul as well.[citation needed]
On April 26, 2005, NCSoft published Arenanet's first MMO Guild Wars Prophecies as well as Arenanets 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.
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.[6] On July 28, 2021, NCSoft announced that it was adding the talents of long-time video game industry veteran Jeffrey Anderson (game designer) to its executive leadership team as the new CEO of NCSoft West, overseeing its games business in the Americas, EMEA, and Oceana regions.[7]
On July 8, 2011, NCSoft started talks with SK Telecom to acquire Ntreev Soft Co., Ltd.[8] 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.[9]
In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as Dark Shrine.[10]
In June 2012, NCSoft launched Blade & Soul, their first MMORPG since Aion launched in 2006.
In 2012 Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.[11] Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015.[citation needed]
On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based out of San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.[12]
On August 21, 2020, NCSoft entered the Korean entertainment industry by launching a new subsidiary called "Klap Co., Ltd."[13] Klap and NCSoft launched the entertainment platform UNIVERSE on January 28, 2021.[14]
Subsidiaries[]
Current[]
- ArenaNet
- Iron Tiger Studios
- Klap (entertainment industry)
- Ntreev Soft
- NC Dinos
Former[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Ncsoft.jpg/220px-Ncsoft.jpg)
Customer satisfaction[]
NCSoft and RightNow Technologies were both recognized in 2006 with the "Beagle Research 'Whiz Kids' Award for Innovative Embedded Customer Service Solution."[15] for NCSoft's integration of RightNow's customer support software.
Controversies[]
Stolen source code[]
On April 27, 2007, Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCSoft are suspected of selling the Lineage III source code to a major Japanese game company.[16] According to NCSoft, the potential damages may exceed US$1 billion.[17]
Worlds.com patent lawsuit[]
Worlds.com CEO Thom Kidrin claimed the idea of a "scalable virtual world with thousands of users" is patented by his organization[18] and targeted NCSoft for patent infringement in 2008,[19] in what he says will be the first of many lawsuits against MMO developers.[18] On April 23, 2010, the Worlds.com case settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential.[citation needed] On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.[citation needed]
Richard Garriott termination[]
Richard Garriott, lead developer of the failed MMORPG game Tabula Rasa, sued NCSoft for US$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 by forging his resignation announcement.[20] On July 30, 2010, a jury in a Texas federal court awarded him US$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.[21] Garriott again prevailed on appeal and NCSoft was required to pay an additional US$4 million, bringing the total damages awarded to Garriott to US$32 million.[22]
Closure of Paragon Studios and City of Heroes[]
On August 31, 2012, NCSoft liquidated Paragon Studios and announced the closure of City of Heroes. Over 21,000 players signed an online petition contesting the shut-down[23] and many used social media to promote their criticisms.
Games[]
Under development[]
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Project TL | NCSoft (Team TL) | MMORPG | TBA |
AION 2 | NCSoft | MMORPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul S | NCSoft | Strategy RPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul Console | NC Interactive (NCWEST) | Action MMORPG | TBA |
Blade & Soul 2 | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | Action MMORPG | To be released in August 26, 2021 |
Lineage W | NCSoft | MMORPG | To be released globally in 2021 |
Pangya M | NTREEV (Project G Team) | Sport RPG | TBA |
Available[]
PC Online[]
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
FUSER | Harmonix | Rhythm | Released on November 10, 2020. |
Aion | NCSoft (Team Aion) | MMORPG | Active since September 22, 2009. |
Blade & Soul | NCSoft (Team Bloodlust) | MMORPG | Active since June 30, 2012. |
Guild Wars | ArenaNet | MMORPG | Active since April 26, 2005. |
Guild Wars 2 | ArenaNet | MMORPG | Active since August 28, 2012. |
Lineage | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | MMORPG | Active since September 3, 1998. |
Lineage II | NCSoft | MMORPG | Active since October 1, 2003. |
Love Beat | CrazyDiamond | Released on Steam January 13, 2016 | |
Jan Ryu Mon | NCSoft Japan | Mahjong | Active. |
Mobile[]
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Aion: Legions of War | NCSoft | RPG | Active since July 28, 2017 |
Final Blade | NCSoft | RPG | Active since February 2017 |
Lineage Red Knight | NCSoft | RPG | Active since December 8, 2016 |
Lineage M | NCSoft | MMORPG | Active since June 21, 2017 |
Pro Baseball H2! | NTREEV (Baseball Team) | Sport | Active since March 2017 |
Lineage II M | NCSoft (Team L2Live) | RPG | Active since November 2019 |
Pro Baseball H3! | NTREEV (Baseball Team) | Sport | Active since April 6, 2021 |
Trickster M | NTREEV (Trickster Team) | MMORPG | Active since May 20, 2021 |
Closed[]
Title | Developer | Genre | Date Closed |
---|---|---|---|
Auto Assault | NetDevil | MMORPG | 2007-08-31. |
Dungeon Runners | NCSoft | MMORPG | 2010-01-01 |
Dragonica | Gravity | Casual MMORPG | 2011-07-13 |
Exteel | NCSoft (E&G Studios) | TPS | 2010-09-01 |
Point Blank | Zepetto | FPS | 2011-07-13 |
Tabula Rasa | Destination Games | MMORPG | 2009-02-28 |
City of Heroes | Paragon Studios | MMORPG | 2012-11-30 |
Trickster | Ntreev Soft | MMORPG | 2013-02-27 |
Master X Master | NCSoft (Studio MXM) | MOBA | 2018-01-31 |
WildStar | NCSoft (Carbine) | MMORPG | 2018-11-30 |
Titles not available in English[]
Title | Developer | Genre | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Murim Jekook | Longtu Network Technology | Strategy | Korean release only. |
Punch Monster | Next Play | MMORPG | Korean release only. |
PangYa | Ntreev Soft | Sport Casual | Thailand release only. |
In addition, NCSoft is also the developer and maintainer of a variety of web-based board games in Asian markets.
References[]
- ^ "NCsoft's Global Network". NCSoft. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "2019 earnings release". ncsoft.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ^ "NCSoft". kr.ncsoft.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ^ "Seven years of City of Heroes statistics". eurogamer.net. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ "엔씨소프트의 역사" [History of NCsoft]. kr.ncsoft.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ "Games Industry Veteran Jeffrey Anderson Joins NCSOFT West as New CEO". PR Newswire. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Weber, Rachel (July 8, 2011). "NCSoft in talks to acquire Ntreev Software". Gamesindustry International. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ Caoili, Eric (February 17, 2012). "League of Legends and NCsoft's Ntreev acquisition, this week in Korean news". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ Caoili, Eric (July 27, 2011). "NCSoft Purchases Seoul-Based Mobile Dev Hotdog Studio". Gamasutra. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean. "Korean game togetherness: Nexon acquires 14.7 percent of NCsoft for $688M". VentureBeat.
- ^ "About Us". us.ncsoft.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- ^ NCSoft launches entertainment subsidiary Klap (The Korea Herald, August 21, 2020)
- ^ https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/universe-launches-4-million-users-ncsoft-ateez-kang-daniel-monstax-astro-new-fan-community-platform-2021
- ^ "RightNow and NCsoft Win - January 19 2006 - RightNow - RightNow". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
- ^ "Former NCSoft Employees Suspected of Stealing Lineage III Code". WIRED. 30 April 2007.
- ^ "Chosun Ilbo article". April 26, 2007. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Worlds.com CEO: We're 'Absolutely' Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft". Business Insider.
- ^ "NCsoft Faces Patent Infringement Suit". WIRED. 29 December 2008.
- ^ massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/richard-garriott-blasts-ncsoft-with-24-million-lawsuit/
- ^ Kim, Tong-hyung (July 30, 2010). "Garriott wins $28 mil. in NCsoft lawsuit".
- ^ "Garriott wins appeal in NCsoft case". RICHARD GARRIOTT v. NCSoft CORPORATION. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Save CoH movement invites NCsoft execs to play, petition passes 20,000 signatures". joystiq.com. September 27, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to NCSOFT. |
- NCSoft
- City of Heroes
- Companies based in Gyeonggi Province
- Companies listed on the Korea Exchange
- South Korean brands
- South Korean companies established in 1997
- Video game companies established in 1997
- Video game companies of South Korea
- Video game development companies
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