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Tuesday, November 12, 2024
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Video Game Developer NCSoft Sees Stock Slump After Game Flop

  • NCSoft has lost $3.7 billion in market value since Aug. 25.
  • The South Korean video game developer did so after its new title flopped.
Blade & Soul/Design: Alex Brooks

NCSoft, a South Korean video game developer, has lost $3.7 billion in market value since Aug. 25 after its highly anticipated new title flopped. 

“Blade & Soul 2”, the martial arts role-playing game, is suffering a “crushing defeat” after failing to meet market expectations. The performance caused NCSoft’s stock to drop 24%, making it the worst performer on the Korean Stock Exchange over a five-day period heading into the weekend.

NCSoft isn’t the only Korean-based game company experiencing woes. 

Its biggest rival, Krafton Inc., failed to meet expectations during its $3.8 billion initial public offering in August, which was South Korea’s biggest in more than a decade. 

Shares of Krafton fell as much as 20% during its trading debut after opening down 9.9% — the country’s worst IPO performance in 17 years — as a result of regulators in the Chinese market punishing video game companies for neither relinquishing exclusive rights nor reporting details of investments.

The Tencent subsidiary planned to raise at least $5 billion in June by selling 20% of its shares, valuing the video game holding company at $25 billion.

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