BUSAN — From a mobile game based on the hit PlayStation-exclusive franchise Horizon to an AAA open-world tactical shooter set in Seoul, NCsoft is developing and publishing games that stray from its usual formula to attract console and global gamers.

NCsoft, best known for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Lineage series, has prioritized the Korean and Asian markets for the past two decades. But the game developer's G-Star 2025 lineup proved that the company now plans to focus on expanding its player base after recording its first annual revenue loss last year.

“From now on, we will be looking at the MMORPG genre from a different angle. At the same time, we will develop titles in the action genre and its subculture genres — like shooters — that still encapsulate our brand,” NCSoft Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Kim Taek-jin said in his keynote speech at the G-Star 2025 event on Thursday.

G-Star, often called Korea’s largest gaming show, is being held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in Haeundae District, Busan, from Thursday to Sunday.

NCsoft has not only diminished in presence in the global gaming industry, but it has also rarely boasted large booths at G-Star. But this year, the company had the largest booth at the venue and, for the first time, was the main sponsor of the event.


Horizon Steel Frontiers, a mobile MMORPG based in the Horizon universe, was unveiled on Thursday. No release date has been announced, though the developer hopes it will be released by the end of 2026 or early 2027. The game was previously mentioned on the company’s earnings call as the game that received “a standing ovation from CCO Kim for the first time in 23 years.”

“I played Horizon Zero Dawn in 2017, and as I finished the campaign of the game, I wanted to explore this fictional world together with others. That’s how this project started,” said Lee Sung-gu, the executive producer of Horizon Steel Frontiers, before adding that the project has been in development since 2019.

Like most games from NCsoft, the game will feature extensive character customization but not the pay-to-win structure that many online Korean games are infamous for, at least according to the developer.

“We are aiming for a ‘friendly’ business model [...] that is up to global standards,” Lee said. “There won’t be any loot box mechanics or percentage-based gameplay.”


One of the two game titles available as a demo at G-Star 2025, Cinder City, further proved the company's dedication to expansion. The game, set to release in 2026, is a third-person shooter that focuses on both multiplayer and single-player formats through player-versus-player and player-versus-environment campaigns. The demo, which only had single-player mode, showcased an almost horror-like gameplay. The Cinder City demo felt nothing like NCsoft’s previous entries, but more akin to global console games like the Call of Duty franchise.

NCsoft also unveiled that it will be publishing Time Takers, a survival shooter for PC and consoles, alongside Limit Zero Breakers, an animated action role-playing game slated for an early 2026 release. The game firm has been mostly publishing its in-house developed games until now.

The company's highly anticipated MMORPG Aion 2 will hit the Korean and Taiwanese markets on Nov. 19, with a global launch date to be announced.