Fair Trade Commission conducts on-site investigation of NCSoft... Probe into 'Lineage Super Account' allegations

The Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into allegations that the game company secretly participated in user competitions using administrator accounts in the mobile games 'Lineage M' and 'Lineage 2M'.

According to industry sources on the 22nd, the Fair Trade Commission sent investigators to NCSoft, the developer, to secure operational data related to Lineage M and Lineage 2M.

The investigation targets NCSoft's so-called 'Lineage Super Account' allegations. Previously, there were suspicions that the game company used administrator privileges to create characters with powerful items and secretly participated in competitive content among users. Last month, users of Lineage M and Lineage 2M filed complaints with the Fair Trade Commission requesting an investigation into the Super Account allegations. Users argue that in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), where competition among users is key, administrators creating super accounts to secretly compete with regular users constitutes unfair practices that deceive consumers.

The Fair Trade Commission plans to examine whether NCSoft actually used super accounts to participate in in-game competitive content or gained unfair advantages. Additionally, it is reported that the commission will also investigate whether item probability manipulation, which has been an issue in several games, occurred in NCSoft's games such as Lineage M.

NCSoft stated, "We will sincerely cooperate with the Fair Trade Commission's investigation."

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Fair Trade Commission also conducted an on-site investigation of Webzen, the operator of 'MU Archangel.' It was revealed that MU Archangel had a 'floor system' where the acquisition probability was set to 0% until a certain number of draw attempts, causing a stir.

The Fair Trade Commission has previously conducted on-site investigations of game companies such as Gravity, the operator of 'Ragnarok Online,' and Wemade, the operator of 'Knight Crow,' regarding suspicions of game item probability manipulation.