South Korea’s largest game developer, Nexon Korea Corp., was fined 11.6 billion won roughly $8.9 million for misleading players over the in-game item drop rates of MapleStory and Bubble Fighter. Read more to learn about the details of the violation.
Nexon Fined Nearly 9 Million USD
Rigged Loot Boxes for Most Popular South Korea Games
The Fair Trade Commission of South Korea declared that Nexon would be subject to a fine after determining that in-game purchases from their MMORPG "Maple Story" and online FPS "Bubble Fighter" violated South Korea’s Electronic Commerce Act by soliciting purchases of the loot box items with false information. The fine is the highest amount that has ever been recorded in South Korea for violating the law on the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce.
The commission conducted a comprehensive three-year investigation starting in 2021 and stated that Nexon has been lowering the probability of item drop rates called Cubes and setting the probability of winning some Cubes to zero.
Cubes are items that were first introduced in May 2010 and can be purchased for 2,000 won. They can reset and have the potential to raise the level of a player’s equipment ranging from Rare, Epic, Unique, and Legendary.
KFTC claimed that the probability structure changed in September 2010 so that popular items were less likely to appear, and from August 2011 to March 2021, Nexon has been changing the probability of popular items so they did not appear at all.
KFTC has reported that over ten years, the gaming company has announced minor changes but has been "omitting or falsely reporting key information that could influence consumer decisions." During this period, "sales of Cubes are estimated to have exceeded 550 billion won, accounting for 30% of MapleStory’s total sales."
Nexon has protested against the decision, arguing that it is "excessive." The company stated, "This issue pertains to the period before 2016 when there was no obligation to disclose information about probability-based items. The KFTC’s retrospective sanctions will greatly shrink Korea’s gaming industry." The company plans to file an objection and take the issue to court.
The company issued a statement on its official website stating that they have established transparent information and disclosure to its users citing its website "Nexon Now" which allows users to directly check probability data and verify probability information of items. The company also acknowledged its shortcomings and apologized to its users stating:
"이용자분들의 신뢰를 저버리지 않고, 앞으로 더욱 성숙한 모습으로 건강한 게임 문화를 만들어 나갈 수 있도록 책임감을 갖고 앞장서서 노력하겠습니다."
Translating to:
We will take responsibility and take the lead in creating a healthy gaming culture in a more mature manner without betraying the trust of our users.
Nexon Also Fined in 2018 for Drop Rates Issue
The KFTC has penalized Nexon before for manipulating drop rates. Korea Fair Trade Commission market surveillance department director Kim Jung-ki stated: "We imposed the largest fine because the Cube is a core product of [MapleStory], the violation period is long, and this is the second violation [by Nexon] following Sudden Attack."
The company was previously fined a total of 939 million won for misleading players about the probability of loot box drops in their First Person Shooter game Sudden Attack 2. The game was shut down 23 days after its release due to an end of the contract with the game developer.
Source:
Nexon fined over MapleStory in-game item selling
