Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed a special fondness for Korea's PC rooms during his visit this month, stopping by three times. After visiting the T1 Basecamp in Hongdae on the first day, he continued a "PC room round" on the third day by visiting two PC rooms in Gangnam back to back.
However, unlike Huang's keen interest, the reality of the domestic PC room business is far from easy. PC rooms, which once numbered more than 20,000, have recently fallen to the 6,000 range, and hundreds have been closing every year.
According to the game industry on the 9th, Huang chose a PC room as the venue to meet domestic game industry leaders on the 7th. Huang visited the Optimum Zone PC Cafe near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with Krafton Chairperson Jang Byung-gyu. He then met NC CEO Kim Taek-jin at Portal PC Room in the Sinnonhyeon area. It was effectively a discussion on cooperation between Nvidia and domestic game companies in PC rooms, which served as the growth stage for Korea's online game industry.
On the 5th, immediately after arriving, Huang went straight to the T1 Basecamp near Hongik Univ. Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to meet pro gamer Faker. T1 Basecamp is a PC room operated by the esports team T1, and Huang made it his first stop after arriving. Huang, who has long praised Korea's PC room and esports culture, drew industry attention by visiting PC rooms one after another during this trip.
Still, unlike Huang's special interest, domestic gamers' use of PC rooms has been steadily declining. According to the Tax Statistics Information System (TASIS), as of April, there were 6,658 PC rooms nationwide, down 397 from a year earlier (7,055).
Compared with 2019 (11,801), before the direct hit of COVID-19, the number has plunged about 43.5%. Nationwide PC rooms have steadily decreased: ▲2020, 9,970 ▲2021, 9,265 ▲2022, 8,485 ▲2023, 7,773 ▲2024, 7,243 ▲2025, 6,800. The industry estimates that considering PC rooms that have not filed closure reports, those actually operating are likely below 6,300.
Nam Goong Young-hong, chair of the Korea Internet PC Cafe Cooperative, said, "The liability burden accumulated during COVID-19 still lingers, and the industry as a whole lacks a clear growth engine," adding, "There is a shortage of new blockbusters that gamers would seek out, so reliance remains high on a few titles such as 'League of Legends,' but those games are unlikely to attract many new users."
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)'s "2025 game user survey," a ranking of PC game popularity at PC rooms nationwide found "League of Legends" highest at 99.3%, followed by "Battlegrounds" (78.8%), "SUDDEN ATTACK" (58.6%), "MapleStory" (52.3%), and "FC Online" (50.3%).
Ironically, the PC room industry that Huang showed such affection for is bearing the full weight of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. With AI demand surging, so-called "chipflation" has driven up prices of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) and memory, sharply increasing the expense burden for PC rooms that must maintain and replace high-spec equipment. The industry laments that as prices of the latest graphics cards have risen by as much as nearly double over one to two years, management difficulties for small and midsize PC rooms have deepened.
On top of that, aggressive expansion and price competition by large franchise PC rooms have further worsened conditions. While operating costs such as electricity bills and labor keep rising, PC room usage fees have effectively stayed flat, making it hard to secure profitability.
Nam said, "Recently, large franchise PC rooms have been increasing rapidly, further worsening the business environment for small and midsize PC rooms," adding, "Price wars backed by large-scale capital and excessive service competition are encroaching on commercial districts." He added, "In a structure where it is difficult to secure profitability, small and midsize PC rooms are ultimately bearing the brunt."