Kakao Games Faces Class Action Lawsuit Threat... Did They Lack Understanding of Subculture?

'Umamusume Conflict' Prolonged
Preparing 'Class Action Lawsuit' Despite Low Local Winning Chances

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The controversy surrounding the game "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" (hereafter Uma Musume), serviced by Kakao Games, is spreading day by day. Although the CEO has apologized twice, some users are still demanding compensation from Kakao Games and are raising their voices, vowing to pursue a collective refund lawsuit.

Considering legal circles and precedents related to game item lawsuits, the possibility of Kakao Games providing refunds or compensation to users even if a lawsuit proceeds is very low. The gaming industry is also closely watching Kakao Games' actions. Since the compensation being demanded concerns potential future damages rather than confirmed losses, if compensation is granted, it could set a bad precedent.

Refund Conditions Difficult to Meet According to Terms

According to the gaming industry on the 20th, Uma Musume users plan to file a refund lawsuit against the domestic operator Kakao Games. Currently, they are collecting users' payment receipts, and it is reported that about 10,000 related emails have been received. Among them, there are quite a few users who have spent over 5 million won.

They point out Kakao Games' poor service management, including ▲service discrimination between Japanese and Korean servers regarding item distribution ▲insufficient notice about important events ▲lack of communication from the management, demanding damage compensation and refunds.

In particular, users highlight the issue of the server maintenance causing the early termination of an event period by three hours, during which they could draw the limited edition item "Kitasan Black SSR." Users claim they purchased the in-game currency "Jewels" or accumulated exchange points to draw this item, but the event ended three hours earlier than scheduled, causing them losses.

However, this is difficult to accept as legitimate damage. Users demand compensation for missing the chance to obtain the probability-based item "Kitasan Black SSR" due to the early event termination, but this concerns a future possibility and is hard to recognize as damage. Regarding the already used "Jewels," withdrawal of subscription is not possible under Article 23 of Kakao Games' mobile service terms and conditions.

Moreover, Kakao Games had announced the maintenance in advance through prior notice, which also makes it difficult to accept users' claims as damage. According to Article 13 of the service terms, the company may change all or part of the game service at any time for operational or technical reasons such as new content or bug patches, and must notify users within the game service before making such changes.

"Regardless of Winning or Losing"

Many users who expressed their intention to participate in the lawsuit stated that they will proceed with the lawsuit for the normalization of the game regardless of the outcome. Many have taken a stance to "give them a lesson" even if they do not receive compensation.

Uma Musume is a subculture game with strong niche elements. Developed by the Japanese game company Cygames and first released in Japan last year, Uma Musume gained great popularity among domestic enthusiasts even before its release in Korea. After its domestic launch, the fact that the subculture game surpassed "Lineage" to rank first in app market sales is proof of its popularity.

However, because it is a game with strong niche elements, users demanded the original work's sensibility down to the smallest details, making it difficult for Kakao Games to operate. Users pointed out issues such as the local dialect of Japanese characters not being properly translated immediately after the domestic release. Subsequently, Kakao Games' operations, which differed from the Japanese server's policies, were raised as issues, and criticism continued that Kakao Games inadequately responded, leading to the current situation.

The main voices from users in the Uma Musume community and elsewhere are "The operator lacks understanding of the game," "They see users only as a means to make money," and "There is a difference in operation compared to the Japanese server."

A gaming industry official explained, "For subculture games enjoyed by niche fans, users' immersion is different from general games, and more attention must be paid to detailed elements. Since it targets a specific group, a certain level of success is guaranteed, but operating the game is not easy in terms of persuading the niche fans."

Kakao Games plans to prepare compensation measures for both paying and non-paying users, although monetary compensation such as refunds is difficult. Lee Si-woo, head of the business division, promised, "We will discuss with Cygames to prepare relief measures. If difficult, we will prepare solutions outside the game." CEO Cho also stated, "We will implement improvement measures one by one and do our best to meet users' expectations and build trust step by step."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.