Nexon subsidiary Neople's labor union is continuing an all-out strike, making it the first in the domestic gaming industry, while conflicts with management are intensifying. Inside the company, some employees who are still coming to work are temporarily taking on tasks from other teams, and in an atmosphere where the influence of the union is strong, it is difficult to focus on work. The initially planned game operations have also been disrupted, and as a result, the offline event celebrating the 20th anniversary of 'Dungeon & Fighter' has been canceled, increasing user dissatisfaction.
According to the gaming industry on the 23rd, the Neople union has been on a full strike since the 7th. Previously, the Neople union had entered an all-out strike from the 25th to the 27th of last month. Even after that, negotiations with management have stagnated, leading to a full strike three days a week and organizational strikes two days a week since the 7th of this month. According to the union, the union membership rate at Neople is about 80%, and the strike participation rate exceeds 90%. Approximately two-thirds of the total workforce of about 1,500 employees are participating in the strike.
The core issue of this labor-management conflict is the performance bonus system. The union is demanding the introduction of a profit-sharing fund (PS) system to distribute 4% of Neople's operating profit of approximately 982.4 billion won last year among all employees. On the other hand, the company operates various reward systems, including performance bonuses for new projects (GI), performance bonuses for existing projects (KI), milestone incentives, and spot bonuses, and it maintains that introducing the PS system is difficult as it also plans to provide additional performance bonuses. Neople employees received an average of about 220 million won per person last year due to performance bonuses.
As the strike continues for a long time, disruptions in work within the company are becoming a reality. In fact, there are cases where an entire team goes on strike, and only the Head of Team comes to work to handle tasks for dozens of employees. Currently, the Neople union has a situation where even if individuals in positions above the Head of Team have joined the union, they cannot engage in disputes.
Even employees who come to work in positions below Head of Team find it difficult to focus on their tasks. Due to the nature of gaming companies where collaboration is important, it is challenging to proceed smoothly with even assigned tasks as colleagues are absent. Furthermore, as the union's strike trend becomes dominant within the organization, some employees feel uneasy about working. It has been reported that particularly when a superior has joined the union, the entire team finds it difficult to actively engage in work.
A Neople employee, who requested anonymity, said, "If the personnel needed for immediate updates are on full strike, the burden of those tasks increases for personnel who are not familiar with them," and noted, "As they continue to handle tasks from other teams without the necessary expertise, the quality of the results is bound to decline, which will ultimately lead to decreased user satisfaction."
Emotional conflicts between employees participating in the strike and those reporting to work are also acting as a burden. Another Neople employee, who has not joined the union, said, "Looking at the company blind, there is an atmosphere that negatively perceives those who come to work without joining the union," adding, "Even for non-union members, trying hard to meet the agreed update schedule leads to feelings of powerlessness as they are labeled 'traitors.'"
Disruptions are also occurring in game operations. A representative example is the cancellation of the offline event 'DNF Universe 2025' prepared to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 'Dungeon & Fighter (DNF).' This event was originally scheduled to be held at KINTEX in Goyang City from the 9th to 10th of next month but was abruptly canceled. This has further increased dissatisfaction among DNF users, especially in online communities. Users express that with the event canceled at such a symbolic time without any explanation, they cannot know future update plans and feel a loss of expectation for the game and even their motivation to play.
If the strike continues for a long time, it is expected that further disruptions in game operations will occur. The Neople union has announced it will continue the full strike until the 8th of next month, but if negotiations with management do not take place, there is a high possibility of prolongation. In fact, negotiations between labor and management have not occurred since the all-out strike began on the 7th.
A Nexon representative said, "Despite the current strike situation, we are maintaining an internal response system to ensure that there is no disruption to game service operations," and added, "We will continue to do our best to provide a stable gaming environment for users."