NCSoft's Q4 Financials: Lineage Excels, WildStar Vanishes
The final three months of 2016 were a spectacular quarter for NCSoft. According to the company's most recent financial report, "sales reached a historic high" and "operating profit also hit a record high." For those of us in the West, however, it was business as usual -- and very little business for one struggling MMO.
The big star of the financial report is Lineage, which went from 83.7 billion Korean won (KRW) in Q3 to 118.4 bKRW in Q4. For the records I have dating back to 2004, that's the second highest quarter for any NCSoft game, narrowly edged out by Guild Wars 2's first full quarter of sales (119 bKRW) back in Q4 2012. The report claims the surge is "due to large-scale upgrades and upfront recognition in Q4 2016 of Dragon Treasure Chest promotion sales to take place in Q1 2017." Sounds suspiciously like a lockbox, no?
The other big mover in the financial report is ... well, "Other." The catch-all category went from 17.6 bKRW to 32.1 bKRW from Q3 to Q4, thanks to mobile game Lineage Red Knights.
In the category of "Games You Probably Care About," there wasn't much to report. Aion was up slightly, Blade & Soul and Guild Wars 2 down slightly, and WildStar ... well, we don't know. It was finally folded into that "Other" category, suffering the same fate that City of Heroes and Tabula Rasa did in their final days. I'd say that doesn't bode well, but we've written WildStar's obituary so many times so far that I wouldn't be all that surprised to see it go another five years.
The financial report also features a year-by-year breakdown of its top games' sales from 2014-2016 -- again, without WildStar -- and overall sales by region per year. You can read the full report on the NCSoft Investors' Relations page.
Related Articles
About the Author

Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.
Read Next
InnoGames Revenue Hit 130 Million Euros In 2016
Free-to-play game developer and publisher InnoGames announced its financials for the past year today, noting that the company's revenue increased by 25% to a record high of 130 million euros.
By QuintLyn Bowers - 6 years agoYou May Enjoy
FFXIV’s Director & Producer Naoki Yoshida Says He’s “Really Looking Forward” To The MMORPG Blue Protocol
Several experienced people from the FFXIV Team are also now working on Blue Protocol.
By Aspen Pash - 1 week agoSquare Enix Strips Cheating World First Team Of Titles, Gear, And Achievements From FFXIV's Omega Protocol
“You didn’t directly commit cheating, but you were able to capture the benefits of cheating.”
By QuintLyn Bowers - 1 week agoYoshi-P: If Investigations Show Mods Used In FFXIV Ultimate Clear, "I Will Not Recognize That Team As True World First"
From mods in Ultimate, to leaked footage, to punishments, Yoshi-P isn't happy.
By Michael Byrne - 1 week agoGameplay Of The Day Before Is Coming Sooner Than You Might Think, As In Tomorrow
We'll soon get to see if The Day Before lives up to the hype.
By Troy Blackburn - 6 days agoLayoff Season Continues With 20% Of NCSoft West Being Let Go, CEO Splits
Severance packages given out and job assistance offered... but that's little consolation.
By QuintLyn Bowers - 5 days agoArenas "Miss The Mark" And Deathmatch Launches As Apex Legends Season 16 Revamps The Meta For Legends And Weapons
Arena is out, team deathmatch is in.
By Troy Blackburn - 1 day ago
Discussion (2)