- KFTC fines Webzen after uncovering hidden minimum pulls behind MU Archangel gacha rates.
- Slapped with a 158 million won fine, a similar case also popped up last year with Webzen later apologizing.
- Other major publishers like Krafton, Gravity, Com2uS, and WeMade also investigated for violations.
MU Archangel maker Webzen has found itself in a tricky situation. The South Korean developer and publisher has reportedly been fined by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for what the regulator calls deceptive gacha practices.
Rare drops in MU Archangel showed normal probabilities, but were actually zero until 50 to 149 draws
After reviewing multiple reports, the KFTC found that players were shown probability rates that looked normal, but in reality, they could not pull the rare items at all unless they bought a large number of tickets first. For this very reason, a fine of 158 million won (approx $107,000) has been slapped.
According to sources, three different types of draw tickets in MU Archangel had hidden minimum purchase requirements. So even though you saw a percentage like 0.88% or 0.286% listed in the game, the real chance was actually zero until you reached anywhere from 50 to 149 pulls.
This issue originally surfaced back in early 2024, when Webzen apologised about the probability errors and called it a display issue. They offered refunds, but the KFTC noted that only around 860 of the more than 20,000 affected players received compensation.
The company also earned about 6.7 billion won from these gacha items during the period under investigation. Webzen says it is still processing refund requests and will work on preventing similar problems in the future.
The KFTC also shared that other big publishers, including Krafton, Gravity, Com2uS, and WeMade, were investigated in 2025 for similar issues. The KFTC has been strict when it came to gacha practices, as Nexon suffered the same fate as Webzen last year for allegedly misleading players about in-game items in MapleStory and Bubble Fighter.
Not just South Korea, but the US FTC also fined Hoyoverse, the publisher of Genshin Impact, with upto $20 million over “monetization practices“ earlier this year. It is highly commendable that these practices are not encouraged, and swift action is taken.
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