Is Neowiz profitable in 2026?

Yes but margins are shrinking. Q1 2026 operating profit was ₩7B, down 32% year over year, even as revenue rose to ₩101.4B (+13.9% YoY). Net profit jumped 154% to ₩15.5B, but that was driven mainly by FX gains from a weak won, not core operations, per May 2026 filings.

Could AI replace Neowiz's game developers?

Unlikely soon. Co-CEO Sean Kim stated on January 6, 2026 that Neowiz is not applying AI within its creative/game-development studios, using it only for QA test-case automation and live-ops data analysis in publishing, keeping narrative and design work human-led.

Neowiz Corp (KOSDAQ: 095660) is publicly traded. As of May 14, 2026, NEOWIZ HOLDINGS Corporation held 34.69% (6,776,338 shares, about ₩140.3B) as the largest single shareholder, with institutions holding roughly 37% and retail investors the rest.

Who is Neowiz's biggest competitor?

NCsoft is the most direct new threat: as of January 8, 2026 it entered the Soulslike genre after Aion 2's success, encroaching on Lies of P's turf. Krafton dwarfs Neowiz in scale, projected to top ₩3 trillion in FY2025 sales versus Neowiz's ₩432.73B.

Is Neowiz cutting jobs?

Headcount is shrinking: estimated at 828 employees in December 2025, down 6.0% from 881 in 2023, with job postings down 20% in 2025 versus 2024, per Revelio Labs data published June 29, 2026.

When will Lies of P 2 be released?

No release date exists yet. Neowiz confirmed on May 11, 2026 that the Lies of P sequel entered full-scale development, having cleared prototype and vertical-slice stages, but announced no launch window as of that date.

Gaming companies · subsidiary of NEOWIZ HOLDINGS Corporation · South Korea

Neowiz

neowiz.com ↗

Korean game maker behind Lies of P and Cats & Soup, spanning console and mobile.

Protection under test

Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from Aug-Dec 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Lies of P sequel reveal expected at Gamescom or The Game Awards

The call

Neowiz's whole near-term story rests on one unreleased sequel, while bigger, faster-moving rivals close in on the genre it just proved out.

Neowiz makes video games for phones, computers, and consoles, with popular titles like Lies of P. Competing against much larger rivals like Krafton and NCsoft is tough because those companies have way more money and resources to make similar games. The real question is whether Neowiz can pull off a successful sequel to Lies of P, since the company's profits actually dropped 32 percent in early 2026 even though sales went up, meaning the business is not running as efficiently as before.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI won't write Lies of P for a rival, but Krafton's near-total staff AI adoption could let it ship more games faster than Neowiz can match. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: NCsoft and Krafton. NCsoft is entering the Soulslike genre after Aion 2's success, and Krafton's ₩3 trillion scale dwarfs Neowiz's ₩430B, both circling the ground Lies of P opened. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Owned IP that already sold, Lies of P past 11 million copies and Cats & Soup past 80 million downloads, plus cash to keep funding a sequel.

What would change this call

Lies of P 2 reveal or release window announced by Gamescom Aug 2026 or Game Awards Dec 2026. Shows whether Neowiz's key growth driver is on track or slipping.
NCsoft's Soulslike title ships and reaches meaningful sales/reviews. Tests whether a bigger rival can take share in Neowiz's signature genre.
Neowiz's operating margin trend in Q2 2026 earnings (mid-August 2026). Shows if Q1's 32% profit drop was one-off or a sustained decline.

Key numbers

Q1 2026 operating profit ₩7B, down 32% YoY (2026-03-31)
Lies of P and DLC passed 11M copies sold (2025-11-30)
Headcount fell to ~828 from 881 in 2023 (2025-12-31)

Named risks

Lies of P sequel has no confirmed release window despite entering full development (May 2026). Severity: high
Operating profit fell 32% YoY in Q1 2026 despite revenue growth, signaling margin pressure. Severity: medium
Net profit growth (+154% Q1 2026) driven by FX gains from a weak won, not core operations. Severity: medium
Headcount decline (881 to 828, 2023 to 2025) and aging workforce (under-30 share down to 10.5%). Severity: medium
AI-in-creative-work controversy (Round8 job posting, May 2026) risks fan/community backlash. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
NCsoft	contesting	Entered Soulslike genre after Aion 2 success, as of Jan 8, 2026, directly targeting Lies of P's niche
Krafton	losing to	Projected ₩3T+ FY2025 sales vs Neowiz's ₩432.73B; 97.6% AI-tool adoption vs Neowiz's limited use as of Feb 2026
FromSoftware	contesting	Repeatedly used as the genre-leader benchmark against Lies of P in coverage of the May 2026 sequel news

Questions people ask

Is Neowiz profitable in 2026?: Yes but margins are shrinking. Q1 2026 operating profit was ₩7B, down 32% year over year, even as revenue rose to ₩101.4B (+13.9% YoY). Net profit jumped 154% to ₩15.5B, but that was driven mainly by FX gains from a weak won, not core operations, per May 2026 filings.
Could AI replace Neowiz's game developers?: Unlikely soon. Co-CEO Sean Kim stated on January 6, 2026 that Neowiz is not applying AI within its creative/game-development studios, using it only for QA test-case automation and live-ops data analysis in publishing, keeping narrative and design work human-led.
Who owns Neowiz?: Neowiz Corp (KOSDAQ: 095660) is publicly traded. As of May 14, 2026, NEOWIZ HOLDINGS Corporation held 34.69% (6,776,338 shares, about ₩140.3B) as the largest single shareholder, with institutions holding roughly 37% and retail investors the rest.
Who is Neowiz's biggest competitor?: NCsoft is the most direct new threat: as of January 8, 2026 it entered the Soulslike genre after Aion 2's success, encroaching on Lies of P's turf. Krafton dwarfs Neowiz in scale, projected to top ₩3 trillion in FY2025 sales versus Neowiz's ₩432.73B.
Is Neowiz cutting jobs?: Headcount is shrinking: estimated at 828 employees in December 2025, down 6.0% from 881 in 2023, with job postings down 20% in 2025 versus 2024, per Revelio Labs data published June 29, 2026.
When will Lies of P 2 be released?: No release date exists yet. Neowiz confirmed on May 11, 2026 that the Lies of P sequel entered full-scale development, having cleared prototype and vertical-slice stages, but announced no launch window as of that date.

Timeline

2026-07-17Report shows Neowiz under-30 workforce share fell from 19.7% (2023) to 10.5% (2025)
2026-05-13Neowiz/Round8 clarify 'AI creator' job posting is limited to internal pre-production art R&D
2026-05-11Q1 2026 earnings: revenue ₩101.4B, operating profit ₩7B (-32% YoY), net profit ₩15.5B (+154%)
2026-05-11Lies of P sequel confirmed to have entered full-scale development, no release window given
2026-04-29Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe launches globally; franchise passes 80 million downloads
2026-01-08NCsoft reported entering the Soulslike genre after Aion 2's success
2026-01-06Co-CEO Sean Kim states AI will not be used in Neowiz's creative/game-development studios
2025-11-30Lies of P plus Overture DLC cumulative sales exceed 11 million copies

Revision history

23 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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