PUBG is in hot water with the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
From March to June last year, Krafton’s much-loved battle royale game PUBG ran a brand collaboration that allowed players to transform their game characters into the members of NJZ through special loot boxes. The game promoted these items with the promise that players were “guaranteed” to win an NJZ skin by their fifth attempt, even after getting unlucky with previous tries.
Time to step out for NewJeans to dominate the battleground with their fresh beats✨
Witness as two worlds collide to bring a refreshing new action scene for you to enjoy and conquer – the world of #PUBGxNewJeans is on its way🐰 and lasts for a limited time only.Welcome to… pic.twitter.com/PCKvaQo3Ib
— PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (@PUBG) June 8, 2024
However, the company is now in hot water with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) after an investigation revealed that the actual probability of obtaining an NJZ skin was just 9% for each attempt. This meant that players spent far more money than expected trying to collect their favorite member’s look, with the belief that their odds were much higher than the reality.
Part of a broader crackdown following new gaming industry regulations, the KFTC’s investigation also discovered that Krafton had completely misrepresented probabilities for other items in PUBG — including a 0% chance of success for some collectibles.
NewJeans x League of Legends ✅
NewJeans x PUBG ✅
NewJeans x Fortnite 🔜if PUBG was to help promote How Sweet and Supernatural comebacks, then Fortnite is for NJ1 😎
NewJeans – BIGGEST ACTIVE GIRL GROUP IN THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/uSxAABGijA
— supernatural ~ #MHDHH (@diorkitty_0515) November 3, 2024
As punishment, Krafton has received a ₩2.50 million KRW (about $1,830 USD) fine and must submit detailed plans to prevent future deception within the next 30 days, but the total financial impact has been even higher. The company is now offering affected PUBG players substantial compensation packages as an apology, issuing direct refunds to 380,000 players totaling ₩1.10 billion KRW (about $805,000 USD). On top of cash refunds, the company has given out an additional ₩9.80 billion KRW (about $7.18 million USD)of in-game currency in compensation.
Recently, the Korea Fair Trade Commission also sanctioned HYBE (along with three other K-Pop companies) for violating consumer rights.
