Welfare Heaven Game Companies, What Are Their Chuseok Gifts? [Buaeri's Game Dictionary]

Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] As the Korean traditional holiday Chuseok approaches, office workers quietly look forward to the 'Chuseok gifts' they receive from their companies. From encouragement money to gift certificates and massage devices, we explored what kind of gifts employees at 'welfare heaven' game companies receive.

Taekjin Hyung Gives 1 Million KRW Encouragement Money to All Employees

NCSoft, ahead of Chuseok on the 25th of last month, gave all employees 1 million KRW on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of 'Lineage M'. In addition to the encouragement money, they also gave 200,000 KRW gift certificates as Chuseok gifts. Kim Taekjin, CEO of NCSoft, is famous for giving 'generous' gifts to employees. Last year at the end of the year, Kim also made headlines by giving a bonus of 3 million KRW per person as a reward for the performance of 'Lineage 2M' to all employees, including regular staff and interns, regardless of rank.

'Lineage M' and 'Lineage 2M' are NCSoft's flagship games, consistently holding the 1st and 2nd places in sales rankings on Google Play. The game with the highest sales in Q2 this year was 'Lineage 2M', with sales of 197.3 billion KRW. 'Lineage M' followed with sales of 159.9 billion KRW.

Nexon Gives 200,000 KRW Points, Netmarble Gives Cash

Nexon gives all employees 200,000 KRW worth of points every holiday, which can be used like cash on online shopping malls such as Hyundai Mall. A Nexon representative explained, "This year, the Chuseok gift is also 200,000 KRW points." Netmarble gave all employees 200,000 KRW in cash as Chuseok gifts.

Krafton, which is preparing for its IPO, allowed all employees to choose between a 200,000 KRW National Tourism Gift Certificate or electronic devices as gifts. Krafton, known for the success story of 'Battlegrounds', recorded consolidated sales of 379 billion KRW and operating profit of 161.2 billion KRW in Q2 this year. In terms of operating profit, it ranks third among domestic game companies after Nexon (302.5 billion KRW) and NCSoft (209 billion KRW), surpassing Netmarble (81.7 billion KRW). Additionally, Pearl Abyss, known as the 'welfare king' in the game industry for supporting rent and housekeeping services, gave all employees gift certificates worth 300,000 KRW per person.