Goldman Sachs on Thursday spotlighted two South Korean online gaming firms as compelling buy opportunities, noting both companies are pursuing strategic transformations that extend their businesses well beyond conventional game publishing.
Krafton earned a Buy rating from Goldman Sachs, with a 12-month price objective set at W510,000. The bank highlighted Krafton’s deliberate expansion from consumer gaming into AI-driven industrial applications. A key element of that strategy is a joint venture with Hanwha Aerospace to develop physical AI and robotics technologies, which gives Krafton exposure to unmanned aerial vehicles and related systems.
Goldman Sachs emphasised that the unmanned aerial vehicle market represents roughly a $45 billion total addressable market, growing at an approximate 14% compound annual growth rate. The bank framed Krafton’s pivot as a shift away from a business model reliant on volatile, hit-driven business-to-consumer revenue toward steadier business-to-business and defense-technology contracts. According to Goldman Sachs, this convergence of AI and defense technology should support a more resilient terminal growth profile and may improve investor perception by diversifying sources of revenue.
NCSOFT was also rated Buy, with Goldman Sachs assigning a 12-month target price of W340,000. The bank pointed to NCSOFT’s reorientation toward mobile and casual gaming as central to its investment case. NCSOFT acquired a 70% stake in Germany-based JustPlay for W301.6 billion, creating what the bank described as an integrated ecosystem spanning development, publishing, user acquisition, and monetization.
Goldman Sachs cited NCSOFT’s long-term ambitions, including a target of W5 trillion in revenue and a 15% return on equity by 2030. The company plans for mobile casual gaming to generate W1.75 trillion in revenue, representing roughly a 35% share of total revenues, and the strategy is intended to reduce dependence on legacy PC-heavy intellectual property while growing the company’s footprint in North America and Europe.
Goldman Sachs’ recommendations reflect a broader focus on companies diversifying business models within the gaming sector, specifically those leveraging AI, robotics, and mobile ecosystems to seek more stable and scalable revenue streams.