Neople Union Claims "Last Year's Bonuses Were Cut"
"4% of Operating Profit Should Be Distributed" vs. "Demands Are Excessive"
The integrated event "Dungeon & Fighter Universe 2025 (DNF Universe)," which was scheduled to be held for the first time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nexon's flagship intellectual property (IP) "Dungeon & Fighter," has been abruptly canceled. While Neople cited "lack of preparation" as the reason, both industry insiders and outsiders interpret the decision as fallout from the recent labor-management conflict.
According to the gaming industry on July 15, Neople has abruptly canceled the DNF Universe event that was planned for next month. The announcement was made the previous evening through major game websites.
This event was intended to be the first integrated IP festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Dungeon & Fighter" series. It was set to showcase not only the original game, but also the mobile version and upcoming titles such as "Overkill" and "Dungeon & Fighter: Arad," including new content and development updates.
In its announcement, Neople stated, "Due to internal circumstances, we have determined that it would be difficult to present all the content we intended to showcase with sufficient quality, so we have decided to cancel the event." The company added, "Instead, we plan to hold a social contribution event to commemorate the 20th anniversary. We will prepare the DNF Universe 2025 event more thoroughly and return at a later date."
Although no specific explanation was given for the cancellation, the industry views it as a consequence of the labor-management conflict that intensified in May.
The Neople labor union has been in conflict with management, claiming that despite last year's record-high performance, bonuses related to the Chinese launch of "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile" were unilaterally reduced. The core demand is for the company to distribute approximately 39.3 billion KRW to employees as profit-sharing, which is about 4% of last year's operating profit of 982.4 billion KRW.
The union continued its legal struggle by refusing overtime work and holding outdoor rallies, and on June 25, it launched a full-scale strike. Out of a total of 1,500 employees, about 900 are reported to be participating in the strike.
Recently, the union held a press conference in front of Nexon Korea's headquarters, criticizing management for not engaging in negotiations. In response, Neople argued that the union's demands are excessive and stated that it is difficult to accept the introduction of a new bonus system.
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