NCSoft on Jan. 29 put key staff behind Aion 2 in front-line roles through its regular executive appointments, after they helped drive a rebound in performance. The reshuffle is seen as aimed at strengthening the organisation’s growth momentum based on the results from Aion 2, which was released late last year and succeeded commercially.

Baek Seung-wook (백승욱), who led development of Aion 2, was promoted from executive director to vice president after about 2 years, helped by the game’s commercial success. Kim Nam-jun (김남준), Aion 2’s development PD, and So In-seop (소인섭), head of the business office, were also promoted from managing director to executive director, recognising contributions in development and business. Aion 2 has exceeded 100 billion won in cumulative sales through early this month since its release and is leading NCSoft’s performance improvement.

NCSoft also established a senior executive vice president structure to support organisational stability and strengthen its future strategy. Koo Hyun-beom (구현범), chief operating officer who has overseen management support and organisational restructuring, and Lee Sung-gu (이성구), chief business officer who has led the success of the Lineage series, were appointed senior executive vice presidents. Lee currently also oversees development of Horizon Steel Frontiers, a joint project with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), alongside efforts to secure the next growth engine.

In other appointments, Kang Jung-soo (강정수), head of the IP Business Division, and Lee Yeon-soo (이연수), chief executive of NC AI, an artificial intelligence technology subsidiary, were included among those promoted from managing director to executive director.