Korea's game industry posted total revenue of 24.124 trillion won in 2025, a mere 1.1% increase from a year earlier, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency.
The figure falls far short of the 2.6% growth recorded by the entire content industry over the same period. By sector, the game industry's growth was nowhere near that of music (15.8%) or comics (7.4%), trailed only by film (0.8%) and publishing (-1.2%). The game sector's revenue growth rate had stood at 3.9% in 2024. How did games, once a driving force of Korea's content industry, come to this point?
This question prompted the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the game industry to sit down for discussions Sunday. The meeting was held as the game subcommittee of the Culture and Arts Policy Advisory Committee under the culture minister, marking its second session. The meeting took place in a conference room at the Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The measures the ministry presented included eradicating illegal private game servers, easing the 52-hour workweek system in the game sector, and introducing tax credits for game production costs. These represent the follow-up progress and future plans for key tasks raised at the first subcommittee meeting.
"Regarding illegal private game servers, we have sharply reduced the existing 15-day blocking period to the current 3 to 5 days, and we plan to shorten that period to a minimum of one day through an automated system," Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said. "We also plan to strengthen the cooperation system with related agencies such as the National Police Agency, and to expand the scope of blocking cooperation to content delivery network (CDN) operators in addition to domestic network operators."
He explained that the ministry is also considering measures to urgently block illegal servers outright. "Just as we previously blocked illegal sites by revising the Copyright Act, this time we are seeking a way to urgently block illegal servers by revising the Game Industry Act," he said. "In other words, we are now trying to eradicate illegality by switching to a form of blocking first and reviewing later."
Regarding the easing of the 52-hour workweek system in the game sector, he explained that the ministry would consult with the Ministry of Employment and Labor on practical measures so that workers in various job categories such as planning and graphics could be covered, in addition to programmers, who are currently specified as subject to the discretionary work system under the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act.
However, he said, "The perspectives of the various players in the game industry differ, so it is difficult to organize them under a single standard. We need to gather wisdom on how to optimize the work system in a way suited to each characteristic, in a way that benefits the game industry and the work environment."
He also said the ministry would firmly push for the long-standing industry demand of tax credits for game content production costs. "We are consulting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, taking into account the reduction in tax revenue resulting from the tax credits and the effect of industry promotion," he added.
Discussions related to artificial intelligence (AI) were also not left out. "Our games, too, must quickly adopt the technological achievements of AI and apply them in the field," Choi said. "Please tell us what kind of support the government should provide so that the game industry does not fall behind."
An industry official who attended as an advisory member of the committee called for easing the regulations pervasive in the game sector. The strongest voice that day was for allowing prizes to be distributed in online games as well.
"Unlike other industries, the fact that prizes cannot be given only in games is unreasonable," said Hwang Sung-ik, president of the Korea Mobile Game Association. "Prizes ultimately bring benefits back to users, and they can be a means of marketing. I hope this will be improved as soon as possible."
The current Game Industry Act, enacted after the 2006 illegal game "Sea Story" scandal, prohibits the payment of prizes based on the results of game use. Kim Young-man, president of the Korea e-Sports Association, said, "(Game-related regulations) have not moved a single step from 'Sea Story.' At that time, there was no field called e-sports." He added, "I hope they will now set game ratings or monetary limits and ease the regulations."
In response, Minister Choi said, "I sympathize with the dissatisfaction over the ban on prizes. However, we also need to sort out the issues regarding side effects. Ultimately, the problem is one of industry regulation, and we will try to move quickly on what is possible first."
