NCSoft was founded in March 1997 by Kim Taek Jin. 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.[5] In 2004, NCSoft launched two MMORPGs, Lineage II and City of Heroes.[6].In December 2023, NCsoft released the MMPRPG ‘Throne and Liberty’.[7]
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.[8]
On April 26, 2005, NCSoft published Arenanet's first MMO Guild Wars Prophecies as well as Arenanet's 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.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11]
On July 8, 2011, NCSoft started talks with SK Telecom to acquire Ntreev Soft Co., Ltd.[12] 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.[13]
In 2011, NCSoft purchased Hotdog Studio, a mobile game studio based in Seoul that produces phone and smartphone titles such as Dark Shrine.[14]
In 2012 Nexon acquired a 14.7 percent interest in NCSoft for $688 million.[16] Nexon sold all of its shares of NCSoft in October 2015.[17]
On November 19, 2015, NCSoft West announced the formation of Iron Tiger studios, a developer based in San Mateo, California focused on adapting Korean-made mobile titles for the West, as well as developing their own mobile games.[18]
On August 21, 2020, NCSoft entered the Korean entertainment industry by launching a new subsidiary called "Klap Co., Ltd."[19] Klap and NCSoft launched the entertainment platform UNIVERSE on January 28, 2021.[20]
In November 2023, NCSoft announced that it had signed a strategic partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment.[22] On January 18, 2024, NCSoft wound down and laid off all 70 employees of its Ntreev Soft subsidiary.[23]
On April 27, 2007, Seoul Metropolitan Police said that seven former employees of NCSoft are suspected of selling the Lineage IIIsource code to a major Japanese game company.[27] According to NCSoft, the potential damages may exceed US$1 billion.[28]
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[29] and targeted NCSoft for patent infringement in 2008,[30] in what he says will be the first of many lawsuits against MMO developers.[29] On April 23, 2010, the Worlds.com case settled, but the terms of the settlement were kept confidential.[31] On July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested the case be reopened.[32]
Richard Garriott termination
Richard Garriott, lead developer of the failed MMORPG 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.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]
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[36] and many used social media to promote their criticisms.
Major Company Reconstruction in South Korea
In 2024, NCSoft underwent significant restructuring in South Korea to tackle its financial challenges. The process began with the closure of its subsidiary, Ntreev Soft, leading to the layoff of 70 employees in January 2024 after enduring an 11-year deficit. Consequently, the development and service of Trickster M, Pro Baseball H2, and Pro Baseball H3 were terminated.[37] On October 21, 2024, NCSoft declared the main branch's overhaul, which includes the formation of new teams into four business divisions, scheduled to be established as official subsidiaries on February 1, 2025.
NC AI will oversee all AI development for games and applications, consolidating NCSoft's AI and NLP teams into a single unit, led by the head of NCSoft's NLP research, Lee Yeon-soo.
Studio X will inherit the project Throne and Liberty from TL Heroes and continue its IP development, under the leadership of Choi Moonyoung, one of NCSoft's three chief business officers.
Studio Y will advance the development of 'Project LLL, guided by Bae Jae-hyun, NCSoft's vice president of game development.
Studio Z will undertake the development of NCSoft's new project TACTAN, currently in the design phase, led by Seo Min-seok.
In the wake of its restructuring, NCSoft will disband the remaining teams that have not been restructured and halt their projects. This includes the cancellation of the single-player action-adventure RPG Project M and the cessation of the newly released game Battle Crush. Additionally, the company will conduct staff layoffs and introduce a voluntary retirement program for its employees.[38]
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