The photo shows crowds filling BEXCO in Busan during the opening of G-Star 2024, South Korea’s largest game exhibition, on November 14 last year.
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Developers from major South Korean game studios are voicing frustration over management practices that prioritize short-term profits over creativity, arguing that such behavior undermines the industry’s global competitiveness.
At a meeting with Vice Culture Minister Kim Young-soo on Thursday, members of the IT division of the Korean Federation of Chemical, Textile, and Food Workers’ Unions said the country’s game development environment had become rigid and risk-averse.
“Even when developers create fresh and promising titles, management often intervenes at the last minute, insisting the project won’t make enough money,” said a union official from a leading game company. “How can developers feel proud of their work in such conditions?”
Others criticized companies for offloading development teams into subsidiaries to make layoffs easier, saying it left employees with little job security.
Union representatives also denounced the dominance of “Lineage-like” business models that rely heavily on a small group of high-spending users, warning that this “get-rich-quick” mentality had trapped the Korean game industry in a closed ecosystem.
“Korean developers have great intellectual properties,” one participant said, “but instead of expanding stories and world-building, many companies rely on ‘pay-to-win’ systems that push players to spend more.”
The developers urged stronger regulation of loot-box mechanics and more state funding for artistic, story-driven games.
They also rejected claims that South Korea’s 52-hour workweek law had weakened competitiveness. “Flexible work systems already allow 70 to 80 hours a week if a company wants,” said one union member. “What really matters is creativity, not sheer labor hours.”
Others dismissed the notion that Korean firms should emulate China’s notorious “996” culture—working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—calling it “illegal even in China today.”
Developers further criticized government support programs for prioritizing profitability over originality. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it would review how grants are evaluated, while also pledging to expand funding for Korean game pavilions at international expos in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
