Adverse Factors Loom Over 'Deonpa'... Nexon's 3 Trillion Club Red Light? [Buaeri's Game Dictionary]

Dungeon & Fighter China

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] As a series of adverse events cast a shadow over 'Dungeon & Fighter (DNF),' which brings Nexon around 1 trillion won in annual revenue, some are now expressing concerns that achieving the 3 trillion won annual sales club may face red flags.

'Postponed DNF Mobile China Launch'

According to Nexon on the 26th, the highly anticipated launch schedule for DNF Mobile in China remains uncertain. Nexon had confirmed the release date on the 12th of last month but abruptly postponed it the day before. At that time, Nexon cited improvements to the 'minor game addiction prevention system' as the reason for the delay. Since February, the Chinese government has been controlling usage time to prevent minors from excessive gaming.

However, with the launch delayed for over a month and a half, some speculate that the issue is not simply a system problem. It is believed that there may be undisclosed issues with Tencent, which distributes games in China. An industry insider said, "Tencent is not a company that operates for just a day or two, so it is hard to understand how they failed to prepare the system," adding, "It is likely related to issues with the Chinese government."

"'Super Account' Controversy in Korea"

Domestically, the so-called 'Super Account' controversy has caused DNF users to lose trust.

DNF developer Neople dismissed an internal employee who committed misconduct and filed a criminal complaint with the police on the 17th. It was revealed that the employee abused their authority to create accounts and generate items through abnormal methods.

Investigations showed that when tool work tasks arose, the employee added their own account and the items to be created to the tool work list. Tool work refers to tasks that directly and collectively modify data information such as warehouse and inventory (item storage space).

Among the items created and leaked externally by the employee were many rare items in the game, including 40 '90% +12 Equipment Amplification Coupons' and 50 '90% +11 Equipment Amplification Coupons.' DNF users estimate the value of these items to be around 50 million won.

Uncertain '3 Trillion Club'

DNF is Nexon's mega hit. The PC online game Dungeon & Fighter still generates over 1 trillion won annually in China. Because of this, it was expected that Nexon’s targeting of China with DNF Mobile would easily achieve 3 trillion won in annual sales. In fact, the pre-registration for the DNF Mobile China launch last December attracted as many as 60 million people, showing its high popularity. Nexon recorded sales of 2.684 trillion won (248.5 billion yen) last year.

However, with the China launch continuously delayed, even this has become uncertain. A Nexon official said, "It is difficult to estimate the release date of DNF Mobile in China at this time," but added, "We will set the release date as soon as possible."

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