Truck Protests Continue into the New Year, Game Companies Face Growing Concerns

On the 16th, a game user held a truck protest against the game company's operational policies in the Pangyo area of Gyeonggi-do. (Photo by Community Capture)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] This year, with a flood of major new releases, the gaming industry is facing deep concerns. This comes as user backlash grows against internet broadcast promotions, one of the key marketing tools used by game companies.

Ongoing 'Truck Protests' in Pangyo This Year

In Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, where many game companies are concentrated, the 'truck protests' continue this year as well. The truck protests this year were initiated by Kakao Games' "Odin: Valhalla Rising" (hereafter Odin). On the 16th, a user of Odin sent a truck in front of Kakao Games' headquarters to protest the game company's promotion practice of paying internet broadcasters (BJs) advertising fees in exchange for broadcast exposure.

The user who started the truck protest after conflicts with promotion BJs and in-game issues stated, "Why should Odin users spend money to defeat characters created with Kakao's money?" and "BJs receive money while stepping on users, laughing and mocking them. Immediately withdraw the promotion."

Following this controversy, Kakao Games immediately suspended all BJ promotions. Even before the truck protest, general paying users had voiced complaints about reverse discrimination regarding BJ promotions mainly on community platforms. As dissatisfaction spread more widely through the truck protest, the company hurriedly moved to contain the situation.

Users Growing More Vocal

The truck protests against BJ promotions have been ongoing for several years. Last year, ten trucks gathered in front of NCSoft. Some users of "Lineage M," one of the titles in the Lineage franchise, argued that it was problematic for Lineage M to start paying advertising fees only to certain BJs in exchange for broadcast exposure.

As user backlash against BJ promotions grows, game companies are visibly troubled. BJ promotions are one of the most efficient marketing methods to quickly acquire new users. By leveraging popular BJs, companies can directly target actual game users. Also, BJs supported by the game company with high spending that ordinary users cannot easily afford play on their behalf, allowing users to experience vicarious satisfaction and thereby encouraging spending.

The problem lies in the gap between promotion-supported BJs and regular users. Promotion BJs inevitably advance ahead of regular users in the game. Especially in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), the gap between characters is pronounced depending on items obtained through spending. Consequently, regular users have continuously voiced dissatisfaction, and the intensity of protests has increased year by year.

New Releases Flooding This Year... Game Companies’ Concerns Deepen

After a period of few new releases due to the impact of COVID-19 over the past three years, the gaming industry is releasing postponed new titles one after another this year. With more competing titles, the role of marketing is expected to become more important than ever. However, as user dissatisfaction with BJ promotions grows, game companies are facing deep concerns over their marketing strategies.

Last year, Nexon launched "Hit 2" and introduced a 'Creator Support Program' instead of BJ promotions. This is a support system where a portion of the money users spend while playing the game goes to creators instead of signing promotion contracts. Although this program initially received positive responses, it has not expanded further as users now complain that it is not much different from game company promotions.

Game companies are struggling to find suitable marketing methods. Some companies have formed task forces (TF) to develop new marketing strategies, but it is reported that there have been no significant results.

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