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What happened to NCSoft’s stock on Aion 2 launch day?
GameMeca reported NCSoft shares at 190,600 won at 9:43 a.m. Korea time on November 19, 2025, down 33,900 won, or 15%, from the previous day. That is an intraday report, not the closing price or a calculation of the full day’s performance. GameMeca’s English page says it was AI-translated from the Korean original. GameMeca’s November 19 report
The timing made the drop striking: Aion 2 had officially launched in Korea and Taiwan at midnight that day. But a coincident decline is not proof that the launch caused it. Contemporary coverage connected the selloff with trouble around the game, while also noting that other market or company factors were not isolated.
Why was the launch controversial?
Server instability
GameMeca cited server instability as one factor weighing on investor sentiment on launch day. The available reporting establishes that instability was part of the immediate launch coverage, but does not quantify its effect on NCSoft’s share price.
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Backlash over monetization
PC Gamer reported criticism of purchasable power-related items and subscriptions. About 15 hours after launch, the developers held an emergency broadcast and announced adjustments, including removing items from the store after a temporary update. In PC Gamer’s translated account, development producer Kim Nam-joon said, “We were complacent and unthoughtful, and we will be pulling the items from the store after today’s temporary update.” Business division head So In-seop added, “I have no excuse to offer you, but I am truly sorry.” These quotations are reported translations. PC Gamer’s launch coverage
Did Aion 2’s launch cause the stock decline?
It is more accurate to say NCSoft shares fell sharply on launch day amid contemporaneous reports of server problems and monetization backlash than to say those issues definitively caused the decline. GameMeca offered launch-related explanations, while PC Gamer cautioned that the share move might be only tangentially related to Aion 2. The cited coverage does not provide a market analysis separating the game’s impact from broader market movements or other company-specific factors.
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How did the game perform after the launch controversy?
NCSoft later reported commercial results that complicate any claim that the launch-day share movement captured Aion 2’s longer-term performance. These figures are company disclosures, not independent estimates:
- On January 7, 2026, NCSoft said Aion 2 had passed KRW 100 billion in cumulative revenue by January 3, 46 days after launch. It also said more than one million characters had purchased memberships; that figure counts characters, not necessarily unique people. NCSoft’s January 7 announcement
- On February 10, 2026, NCSoft reported KRW 168.2 billion in Q4 2025 PC online game sales, its highest quarterly PC revenue since 2017, supported by Aion 2’s November launch. NCSoft’s Q4 2025 results
- On May 13, 2026, NCSoft reported KRW 136.8 billion in Aion 2 revenue for Q1 2026, and said PC game revenue reached a quarterly high. It also planned a global launch in the second half of 2026. NCSoft’s Q1 2026 results
Which launch date and region are being discussed?
The stock drop refers to the initial Korea and Taiwan launch on November 19, 2025. It should not be confused with later international rollout plans. NCSoft had announced the Korea and Taiwan launch on November 11, with pre-download and character customization beginning November 16. NCSoft’s launch announcement
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- The Thrill of Flight: Flying is a strategic and integral part of the game, adding a fresh dynamic to all aspects of the genre, including combat, quests, and exploration.
- Stunning World: Discover a meticulously crafted fantasy world brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.
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Separately, NCSoft Japan’s official Aion 2 site lists an October 5, 2026 official launch in Japan. Aion 2 Japan official site
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