The DeanBeat: Nexon pushes back at analysts by refusing to give game launch dates

Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney told investors during an earnings call Wednesday that he would not give launch dates for highly anticipated releases of KartRider: Drift and the first game from Patrick Soderlund’s Embark Studios.

His remarks surfaced truths about game development seldom discussed in financial circles. The suits of the business — CEOs, chief financial officer, and other game leaders — may often plant a flag in the ground by scheduling a game. But Mahoney, a suit himself, is quite critical of those other suits, as he believes scheduling a game launch to meet a financial target almost never ends well for the players, the development team, and the investors.