South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that Nexon, the country’s leading game company, should return a portion of its profits to players for failing to disclose information about “probabilistic items”—more commonly known as gacha mechanics or loot boxes in the West—in its popular game MapleStory.
The ruling, announced on Nov. 28, upheld a lower court’s decision and ordered Nexon to refund 5% of the purchase price to a player who filed the lawsuit against the game company for not providing adequate information on probabilistic items. This marks the Supreme Court’s first ruling on probabilistic game items.
The case began in 2021 when a MapleStory user, Mr. Kim, sued Nexon for damages due to its failure to provide detailed probability information for its probabilistic items. These items allow players to pay for a random chance to acquire in-game items. Rarer and more valuable items have lower drop rates. Game companies are often accused of deliberately lowering these probabilities to encourage repeated spending by players seeking specific items.
Initially, a lower court ruled in favor of Nexon, but the appellate court reversed the decision, ordering the company to refund 5% of the total amount spent by Mr. Kim. “Nexon’s failure to disclose the 5% probability information was deliberate and calculated,” the court ruled. The Supreme Court’s affirmation of this ruling could pay the way for class action lawsuits, investigations by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), and calls for legislative reform.
The dispute dates back to 2010 when MapleStory introduced a probabilistic item called “Cube.” The item allowed players to enhance their characters’ abilities by rolling for three random options determined by a hidden probability system. Players began to voice suspicions after spending tens of millions of won without obtaining the desired options.
A KFTC investigation revealed that Nexon had altered the probabilities, including setting specific options with a 0% chance of being obtained. The commission fined the company 11.6 billion won ($9.6 million) and ordered corrective measures. Nexon later agreed to the largest-ever compensation of 21.9 billion won ($18.2 million) to 800,000 gamers through a collective settlement.
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling is also expected to influence an ongoing class action lawsuit filed by 717 MapleStory users against Nexon in February. In addition to the previous compensation, players are demanding a refund of a portion of their payments, arguing that Nexon failed to provide specific information on probabilistic items. The lawsuit seeks damages amounting to 500 million won.
KFTC Investigations into other games using probabilistic items are expected to gain momentum. Titles under scrutiny include Gravity’s “Ragnarok Online,” Wemade’s “Night Crows,” and Webzen’s “MU Archangel,” all accused of providing false or misleading probability information to gamers.
“Probabilistic items, once the most lucrative model for game companies, have now become their biggest risk,” said an industry insider. “We expect to see waves of class action lawsuits filed against each game company.”
