Korea Fines Companies For Deceptive Promotion of Loot Boxes

Three video game companies have been fined by the Korean Fair Trade Commission for misleading customers about the drop rate of items in loot boxes, according to The Korea Herald (via Gamasutra).

Nexon Korea, the publisher of Lawbreakers and MapleStory, owes the most of the three companies, facing a $882,700 penalty on top of a $5,200 fine. This is for a promotion campaign that lead consumers to believe the chances of getting each item in a loot box are equal, according to the Korean FTC. Nexon Korea has released a statement saying the FTC interpreted the offending ad’s wording wrongly.

Netmarble, the publisher behind mobile games Star Wars: Force Arena and Marvel: Future Fight,  got a $42,300 penalty and $14,100 fine.

The smallest of the punishments went to NextFloor, which was hit with a $4,700 fine.

Loot boxes have been under increasing scrutiny since the infamous release of Battlefront II brought them to the greater public’s attention late last year. Korea’s not the only country to have laws regarding loot boxes, with China also requiring game companies to reveal the odds of getting items within a given loot box. Even in the U.S. there are representatives wanting to crack down on the popular monetization method.