Nexon moved to defuse the situation early by unveiling a strong compensation plan to fully refund the entire amounts paid by users of ‘Maple Raising’ amid a controversy over probability errors.

In an evening notice on the 28th, Nexon stated, “Even though we confirmed an error that critically affects gameplay, we committed a grave mistake by fixing it without notifying players,” and added, “Taking full responsibility, we have decided to provide full refunds to all players who want them.”

Refunds apply to all products purchased from the initial launch of the game service on November 6 last year until the time the full-refund notice is posted. A full refund is a decision rarely seen in the game industry, and it is the first such case since Nexon was founded.

Earlier, among ‘Maple Raising’ users, suspicions were raised that attack speed beyond a certain threshold does not affect perceived performance. According to users’ direct frame analysis, when attack speed exceeds 66.76%, there is no change all the way up to the 99.99% bracket.

Typically, idle RPG players invest significant sums in paid content such as weapon and companion draws or cubes to maximize a character’s combat power. Among so-called ‘heavy users,’ high-value purchases reaching the several-million-won range are common, so users defined this incident as ‘consumer deception’ and began responding.

Accordingly, on the 26th, in a statement issued under the names of co-CEOs Kang Dae-Hyun and Kim Jung-Uk, Nexon said it would take every measure, including the highest level of discipline, ‘dismissal of those responsible,’ through a thorough investigation.

Nexon’s swift move is seen as a response in line with the recent policy stance of the government and the ruling party to protect game users.

Previously, after a similar issue erupted in ‘MapleStory,’ Nexon faced civil lawsuits and collective mediation and was slapped with a 11.6 billion won fine by the Fair Trade Commission, drawing public criticism.

In particular, the political arena is closely watching issues related to ‘probability-based items,’ and opinions are emerging that this should be an opportunity to impose even stronger sanctions on the game industry. Following the implementation in 2024 of mandatory disclosure of probability-item information, a bill to amend the Game Industry Act has been prepared, centered on ‘punitive damages’ and ‘shifting the burden of proof.’

Moreover, last month, President Lee Jae Myung conveyed a message to impose hefty fines on companies that failed to properly disclose probability-type item information, and shortly thereafter, Kim Sung-Hoe, chair of the Democratic Party’s special committee on games, proposed a bill to allow immediate fines equivalent to 3% of a company’s sales.

Meanwhile, the Game Users Association, which the previous day had filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission against Nexon, withdrew the complaint following the full-refund decision. Lee Cheol-Woo, a game-specialist attorney and head of the Game Users Association, said, “We believe the full refunds have substantially alleviated the severity of the matter.”