Sony and NCSoft Forge Strategic Alliance to Conquer the Gaming Universe
According to official announcements from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and reports by wccftech, a strategic global business partnership was established on November 28, 2023, between the game developer and publisher NCSoft and SIE. Following thorough evaluation, both parties aspire to leverage NCSoft’s technological prowess and SIE’s global influence in the entertainment domain to foster the development of multiple global business areas, including mobile platforms. NCSoft, a South Korean interactive entertainment software company founded in March 1997, is renowned for its titles such as “Blade & Soul”, “Lineage”, and “Aion”, and globally released the “Guild Wars” series in 2005.
Regarding this collaboration, Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SIE, commented, “Partnering with NCSOFT advances our strategy to expand beyond console and broaden PlayStation’s reach to a wider audience. Like SIE, NCSOFT shares a similar vision in creating high-quality, impactful entertainment experiences for players everywhere, and together we’re excited to collaborate to push the boundaries of gaming further.”
Taekjin Kim, President and CEO of NCsoft, also expressed, “This partnership with SIE is the beginning of our efforts to build various synergies together, utilizing both companies’ core competencies, technological capabilities, and expertise. We will deliver a new and enjoyable experience to our audience across and beyond genres and regions.”
Under the leadership of Jim Ryan in recent years, SIE’s development direction has expanded beyond triple-A gaming, showing a keen interest in online service-based games. However, PlayStation’s progress in this area has been challenging, with reports suggesting that half of its online service-based games have been delayed due to internal evaluations and fan enthusiasm. Consequently, wccftech believes that SIE’s partnership with NCSoft highly values mobile platform expertise, positing that PlayStation’s development could be significantly propelled by creating mobile versions of its popular IP.
