A 20-something office worker, a person surnamed Han, scrapped plans to go to a PC bang with friends during the Chuseok holiday. The neighborhood PC bang that was a regular spot during school days had closed. Han checked a map app but couldn't find another PC bang near home. Han said, "To go to a PC bang even once, I have to take public transportation," adding, "It seems the small and mid-sized shops where you can only play games have gone under, and only the large venues that provide a variety of experiences have survived."
PC bangs, which once served as hangouts for teenagers, are disappearing. At their peak, more than 20,000 were thriving, but recently the number has fallen to around 6,000. As high-performance PCs have spread to households and mobile games have gained popularity, PC bangs are losing their footing. In contrast to this trend, however, domestic and overseas game companies have recently been opening PC bangs themselves. Through PC bangs, they aim to promote PC games directly while strengthening the offline link with users as a point of contact.
According to the Tax Administration Statistics Information System (TASIS) on the 11th, as of Aug., there were 6,983 PC bangs nationwide, down 406 from a year earlier (7,389). Compared with 2019 (11,801), before they were hit hard by COVID-19, the number plunged about 40%. The number of PC bangs nationwide has steadily declined: ▲2020: 9,970 ▲2021: 9,265 ▲2022: 8,485 ▲2023: 7,773 ▲2024: 7,243. The industry estimates that if you account for PC bangs that have not filed closure reports, fewer than 6,500 are actually operating.
The acceleration in PC bang closures stems from structural changes in the game market. PC games require high-spec graphics and fast response times, making high-performance gaming PCs equipped with high-end graphics processing units (GPUs) essential. In the past, PC bangs were a must for users to enjoy games, but as social distancing and working from home took hold during COVID-19, the spread of high-performance gaming PCs expanded. As gamers set up PC bang-level environments at home, there was no need to go to PC bangs.
According to market researcher IDC, while domestic PC shipments fell slightly year over year as of last year, high-performance PCs with artificial intelligence (AI) features, including gaming computers, are increasing rapidly. IDC projected that AI PC penetration will grow at an average annual rate of 27.3% over the next five years. Given that PC bangs incur large ancillary costs such as labor and electricity expense, more are likely to close going forward.
In addition, the rising popularity of mobile games has dealt a direct blow to PC bang closures. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), in 2023 mobile games accounted for the largest share of the domestic game market at 59.3%, while PC games (25.6%) were about half that of mobile games. In particular, among younger people, rather than gathering at PC bangs to play, it has become a culture to play mobile games or watch game YouTube streams.
In contrast to this trend, domestic and overseas game companies have recently been opening PC bangs themselves. Nexon plans to open "Maple Agit," a PC bang leveraging its popular intellectual property (IP) MapleStory, near Gangnam Station in Seoul on the 18th. "Maple Agit" is a MapleStory-themed PC bang with a total of 181 seats. Nexon said it plans to use "Maple Agit" to expand user touchpoints and offline experiences.
HoYoverse last year opened "Genshin PC Lounge in Seoul," a PC bang leveraging its popular IP Genshin, near Hongik University Station in Seoul. It is the first PC bang for a domestic subculture game. "Genshin PC Lounge in Seoul" features, in addition to a PC zone for gameplay, a photo zone recreating the Eternal Nation "Inazuma," a themed experience zone, a goods zone, and a themed menu. It also prepared an "Ilseongso Zone" where "Genius Invokation TCG" matches are possible, allowing spectators to watch strategic battles between users at the PC bang.
Kakao Games is also operating various collaboration PC bangs. Kakao Games opened four collaboration PC bangs in Seoul in Jun. 2023, then expanded to Busan and is now collaborating with a total of seven PC bangs. Using these PC bangs as bases, it is showcasing PC and online games such as Path of Exile 1 and 2 and PUBG, which Kakao Games services, as well as Kakao Friends characters.
Game companies are moving to provide special experiences to users rather than to realize revenue through PC bang operations. Through themed PC bangs, they offer an integrated online-offline experience that combines goods, special menus, and photo zones, seeking to strengthen IP loyalty in the process.
A game industry official said, "While the PC bang industry is in a slump, game companies are pursuing a differentiation strategy by opening themed PC bangs using their own games," adding, "It is an attempt to boost user loyalty through the offline space of PC bangs."