Story Highlights
- KFTC fines Webzen after uncovering hidden minimum pulls behind MU Archangel gacha rates.
- Slapped with a 158 million won fine, a similar case also popped up last year with Webzen later apologizing.
- Other major publishers like Krafton, Gravity, Com2uS, and WeMade also investigated for violations.
The company behind the game MU Archangel, Webzen, is facing a penalty. South Korea’s Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has reportedly fined them for misleading practices related to the game’s ‘gacha’ system – a type of randomized loot box mechanic.
Rare drops in MU Archangel showed normal probabilities, but were actually zero until 50 to 149 draws
The KFTC investigated and discovered that players were shown misleading probabilities for winning rare items. These items were actually impossible to win without purchasing a significant number of tickets. As a result, a fine of 158 million won (approximately $107,000) was issued.
In the MU Archangel game, some prize draws were misleading. While the game showed probabilities like 0.88% or 0.286%, you actually had to make between 50 and 150 attempts before you even had a chance to win. These draws had secret minimum purchase requirements that weren’t displayed.
The problem first came to light in early 2024 when Webzen admitted there were errors in how probabilities were shown in the game and called it a visual bug. While they offered refunds to affected players, the KFTC found that only about 860 out of over 20,000 actually received compensation.
So, it turns out Webzen made around 6.7 billion won from those gacha pulls we’ve been talking about. They’re still dealing with all the refund requests, which is good to hear, and they’ve promised to try and make sure this kind of issue doesn’t happen again. Hopefully, they’ll actually follow through!
The KFTC also revealed that Krafton, Gravity, Com2uS, and WeMade were all under investigation in 2025 for comparable problems. The KFTC has been consistently tough on gacha game mechanics, having previously penalized Nexon last year, just like Webzen, for reportedly deceiving players about items in MapleStory and Bubble Fighter.
Earlier this year, both South Korea and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) penalized Hoyoverse, the company behind Genshin Impact, with fines potentially totaling $20 million due to concerns about how the game makes money. It’s good to see these types of practices discouraged and addressed quickly.
Read More
- Clash Royale Best Boss Bandit Champion decks
- Best Hero Card Decks in Clash Royale
- Clash Royale Witch Evolution best decks guide
- Ireland, Spain and more countries withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest 2026
- Clash Royale December 2025: Events, Challenges, Tournaments, and Rewards
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Ora Ora Overdrive unites iconic characters in a sim RPG, launching on mobile this fall
- ‘The Abandons’ tries to mine new ground, but treads old western territory instead
- How to get your Discord Checkpoint 2025
- HAIKYU!! FLY HIGH Character Tier List
- Best Builds for Undertaker in Elden Ring Nightreign Forsaken Hollows
2025-12-08 17:11