– May 1. Announcement of the comprehensive game industry promotion plan (2024~2028)
– Establishment of 3 significant strategies and 12 critical tasks for the second leap forward of the gaming industry
– K Game competitiveness, institutional environment, and growth foundation all ‘level up’
On Wednesday, May 1, the government will discuss and announce the ‘Comprehensive Game Industry Promotion Plan (2024-2028)*’ at the Emergency Economic Ministers’ Meeting chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
This comprehensive plan for promoting the game industry was conducted through basic research through 12 advisory meetings from 2023 to early 2024. It was established based on this by gathering additional opinions from industry and academia more than ten times.
Due to the growth of online computer and mobile games, the domestic game industry achieved its highest-ever sales of 22.2 trillion won in 2022, establishing itself as the world’s fourth-largest game powerhouse. In addition, games are enjoyed by 3.34 billion people, which is more than 40% of the world’s population, and in Korea, they have grown into a representative leisure culture used by 63% of the total population.
However, since COVID-19, growth in the global and domestic markets has been slowing. In particular, in the case of Korea, there are concerns about continued growth due to a structure focused on computer and mobile games and intensifying global competition. A growing demand for promotion measures can increase the industry growth rate again.
Accordingly, the government established a ‘comprehensive plan to promote the game industry’ to provide a new growth engine for the game industry and enable K-games to take a leap forward. With the vision of ‘2028, the first year of the game industry’s second leap forward’, three significant strategies and 12 tasks were prepared.
[1] K-Game Competitiveness ‘Level Up’: Intensive training in console games and indie games
First, we will reorganize the industrial structure centered on online computers and mobile games by focusing on fostering console games (28%), the second largest market in the world after mobile games (44%). Console games have grown to a level where the proportion of users is more than 40% in advanced regions such as North America and Europe. Still, domestic console games are an unexplored field, accounting for only 1.5% of the global market. However, console games that have recently attracted international attention, such as ‘P’s Lies’ and ‘Dave the Diver’, have been released, showing the growth potential of K-console games.
The government creates a console game industry ecosystem by establishing a support system tailored to the characteristics of console games. In particular, in cooperation with major global console platform companies such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, we will discover promising domestic games and provide customized production, platform entry, and promotion to expand opportunities to meet domestic and foreign users.
Considering the market environment where console game production and distribution experience is lacking, a mentoring program is also operated to pass on the knowledge and secrets of leading console game production companies.
We select games with high global growth potential to support the distribution of promising console games and connect them with operators dedicated to consulting, promotion, and distribution to provide multi-year support. We also plan to establish ‘K-Game Early Access’, which allows users to experience games in the production stage in advance, to provide feedback from users and to enjoy the effect of preliminary word of mouth simultaneously.
Strengthen support for indie games so that games in various fields and types can be experimented with and produced. We will create a stable start-up environment for early-stage entrepreneurs by introducing a ‘win-win cooperative start-up support’ project linking indie game developers and leading companies. In connection with domestic game-related universities, we support students in producing excellent projects for actual games and expanding the base of indie games.
[2] K-Games institutional environment ‘level up’: regulatory innovation, focus on user protection
Supplier-centered gaming industry regulations that do not consider environmental changes have been criticized for weakening the domestic gaming industry’s competitiveness and limiting growth. The government improves the gaming industry’s business environment by innovating ineffective regulations under the Game Industry Act.
Expand the autonomy of measures to prevent overindulgence in online games. Identity verification is mandatory for online games, but youth who do not have an identity verification method cannot use games for all users due to their classification. Accordingly, identity verification will be made optional for all-user games, but members who do not verify their identity will be considered minors and will require consent from a legal representative.
The game time selection system, also known as the so-called ‘selective shutdown system’, in which users set their game times, will be converted to self-regulation and improved so that game companies can operate independently. The rating classification system will continue to be improved, including transferring the rating system to the private sector, easing the content modification reporting system, and easing requirements for designating a self-rating business operator.
Measures will also be taken to protect the game-providing industry and increase its autonomy, such as operating prizes related to arcade games, excluding game-providing businesses from businesses harmful to youth, and establishing exemptions from administrative measures for bonafide game business operators.
Along with regulatory innovation, an effective user protection system will be established. To provide collective and distributed damage relief, special provisions for lawsuits under the 「Game Industry Act」 have been introduced to offer probability-type items.
It provides a basis for users to effectively respond to damages, such as stipulating the game company’s liability for damages to users in case of violating the probability display obligation and shifting the burden of proof from the user to the game company.
To establish a surveillance system regarding the disclosure of information on random items, the monitoring group will be expanded step by step, and a domestic agent system under the 「Game Industry Act」 and 「Electronic Commerce Act」 will be established as soon as possible to eliminate reverse discrimination with overseas game companies. In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Game Commission, industry, users, and academia formed a ‘Probabilistic Item Information Disclosure Special Task Force’ to regularly inspect and improve the detailed standards of the random item information disclosure system to improve the system. Operate.
The ‘Game User Rights Protection Center’ (tentative name), dedicated to providing relief for damage caused by game-related incidents and accidents, will be established within the Game Management Committee to help game users receive comprehensive damage reporting, consultation, and litigation support. .
[3] ‘Level up’ based on K-game growth: Expansion of base, including e-sports and professional training
We are expanding the base of e-sports to solidify our status as an e-sports powerhouse. In addition to professional teams, local business teams will be established to establish a Korean-style e-sports league system, and support for student clubs will be expanded for middle and high school students’ e-sports activities.
To define the scope of the e-sports industry, which is currently not clearly defined, a new classification system will be established, and the added value of e-sports will be expanded by linking with other content fields such as movies and dramas as well as other industries such as tourism, and through this, the self-sustainability that the industry lacks. Secure.
We also foster game experts. In line with field opinions that we need to increase opportunities to experience global trends, we not only exchanged and cooperated with world-class game companies and educational institutions but also submitted excellent projects from promising game talent to major overseas game events such as the ‘Indie Game Festival’ at the Game Developer Conference (GDC). Provide an opportunity to do so.
In conjunction with Neulbom School, we operate educational programs such as coding and promote game literacy for youth to help children and teenagers learn a healthy gaming culture and prevent overindulgence. To strengthen the role of games as digital therapeutics, such as ‘Endeavor Actively responds to social awareness that is seen as the cause of
First Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jeon Byeong-geuk said, “It is meaningful to prepare a new promotion policy during a period of slowdown in the game industry’s growth.” He added, “Through this plan, we will go beyond the areas in which our game industry is doing well and actively challenge new fields such as console games.” I hope to receive global recognition in all areas of gaming. “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also make active efforts to implement the specific measures included in the plan,” he said.
