NCsoft already has successfully established itself in North America, Japan, Taiwan, China and Thailand. With the upcoming venture into Europe, NCsoft takes one step closer to constructing a global network for online game services.

NCsoft Europe will be headed by Geoffrey Heath, who has a history of building businesses in Europe. In addition to being instrumental in helping Activision establish a foothold as the UK 's first third-party publisher for the Atari 2600, he has also advised other big US companies such as Origin Systems and Maxis. Heath also established Mindscape International and was a key member of the team that managed the sale of the Mindscape Group to Pearson. Heath is chairman of Climax Group, a leading games developer.

“NCsoft is a business that has captured the imagination of gamers across Asian and US markets. Europe is the next step for the company as it grows a global online games network,” said Heath.

Currently, American made online games are dominating the game industry in Europe. Since the exports of Korean game companies have been heavily concentrated in Asian market such as China, Korean made games have to date not made significant strides in Europe. According to the Korean Ministry of Culture & Tourism 2004 Game Economic White Paper, the market share of Korean games exported to different regions is as follows: China 52.4%, Taiwan 16.6%, Southeast Asia 6.5%, Japan 6%, North America 5.7%, and Europe 2%.

NCsoft is planning to service Lineage® II, and City of Heroes™ in Europe by the end of 2004. After that, the company will continue to service new games with the objective of establishing itself as a leading online game company in the European region by 2005.

About NCsoft Corporation

Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, NCsoft Corp. is the world's leading developer and publisher of online games. Founded in 1997, NCsoft is home to Lineage, the world's most successful online role playing game. NCsoft has joint venture offices located in Japan, Taiwan, and China. In fiscal year 2003, NCsoft posted revenues of KRW (Korean Won) 166.5 billion or approximately US$143 million. More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.ncsoft.com.

About NCsoft – North America

NCsoft – North America (NC-NA) is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NC-NA, with development and administrative offices in Texas and California, launched two ground-breaking titles in the first half of 2004, Lineage II and City of Heroes. The company also works with NCsoft subsidiary ArenaNet™ (located in Seattle, WA) and third party developers throughout North America, such as Cryptic Studios and NetDevil, to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. More information about NCsoft – North America can be found at http://www.PlayNC.com.

About Cryptic Studios

Cryptic Studios™, Inc., located in San Jose, California, was established in July of 2000 and is an independent developer of massively multiplayer online games for the PC and next generation consoles. Its first game, City of Heroes, is a virtual world where thousands of people play simultaneously, take on the role of super-powered heroes, fight villains and help create a dynamic story in a visually-stunning, 3D graphical setting.

NCsoft and Lineage are registered trademarks of NCsoft Corp. PlayNC, PlayNC.com and ArenaNet are trademarks of NCsoft Corp. City of Heroes is a trademark of NCsoft Corp. and Cryptic Studios, Inc. Cryptic Studios is a trademark of Cryptic Studios, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.