NCsoft in talks to open Uzbekistan office, tapping Central Asia with royalty tax breaks

NCsoft has discussed establishing a local office and outsourcing game development with Uzbekistan's state-run IT Park. The move is seen as a strategy to achieve two goals—cutting labor costs and tapping the emerging Central Asian market—as the company undergoes a management overhaul.

According to IT Park on Nov. 10, a delegation led by Jakhongir Radjabov, business development director, recently visited NCsoft's headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. They met with key executives including Yong Chang-hyun, NCsoft executive vice president, to discuss ways to cooperate in the game industry between the two countries.

The two sides reviewed in depth the possibility of opening an NCsoft office in Uzbekistan and outsourcing projects to local IT companies. Also on the agenda was co-hosting a game development hackathon to vitalize the local game industry and nurture talent.

IT Park offered unprecedented conditions to attract NCsoft, highlighting zero-tax benefits on game royalty revenue and extensive support programs. NCsoft, in turn, assessed Uzbekistan as a promising base candidate and expressed its intention to closely analyze the local IT ecosystem and business opportunities.

The discussion aligns with NCsoft's push for global expansion and management efficiency. With 4,838 employees, NCsoft is undertaking aggressive restructuring to overcome sluggish earnings. Building an outsourcing base in Uzbekistan, which has a favorable cost structure, would help control development costs efficiently.

Central Asia is emerging as a new target market for NCsoft. In May, the company officially launched its new MMORPG Throne and Liberty (TL) in 11 countries, including five Central Asian nations such as Uzbekistan, Russia, and Eastern Europe. The game surpassed 330,000 peak concurrent users on Steam shortly after its global release, and NCsoft is expanding its service areas to emerging markets to grow local influence.

The Uzbek government is also betting on economic growth by attracting foreign IT companies. Last year, IT Park hosted the Global Business Services Forum (GBSF 2025), drawing 450 representatives from 260 companies, including 237 multinationals from 40 countries. Several global IT firms, such as Truss, which serves US and European clients, have already built infrastructure in Uzbekistan and are seeing results.

If NCsoft settles in Uzbekistan, advanced technology and global know-how are expected to be transplanted into the local game ecosystem. "When companies like NCsoft enter, they bring cutting-edge technology and international expertise," IT Park said. "This will help foster a competitive game industry and create new opportunities for young professionals and startups."

※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.