Kakao Games fires employee over 'Odin: Valhalla Rising' leak

Odin: Valhalla Rising, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Kakao Games. [KAKAO GAMES]

Kakao Games has fired the employee who leaked update plans for the company's online game Odin: Valhalla Rising to a user of the game.

A statement from Kim Joo-ik, director of Odin’s management team, was released on the game's online forum on Tuesday.

“It has been decided that the employee connected to the recent leak incident will be fired, in line with our personnel management policy,” the statement read. “We are also looking into civil and criminal procedures following investigation results,” it added.

Update leaks are a sensitive issue for users of the open world, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where players are part of guilds, or organized groups, that go to battle against each other and are ranked depending on the outcome.

Suspicions had first been raised among Odin players that a figure presumed to be a Kakao Games employee frequently shared undisclosed updates information to guild members and other acquaintances.

Users strongly protested against the game company, saying the guild, which the employee was a part of, was unfairly profiting by taking advantage of the information.

In response, the management team put out a notice on Monday, saying “The employee in question has been expelled of his duties, and an internal investigation is being held after his account was seized and permanently suspended."

According to Kakao Games, the employee in question was a player of Odin even before he joined the company in August 2021, and was also active as the guild leader of a top-ranking guild in the game after.

Even after Thursday’s announcement, some users remained angry and left strongly worded comments on the management team’s statement, many asking for refunds and stricter restrictions on foul play.

“We don’t want rewards, we want the permanent suspension of players who [unfairly profited]. I want you to know how big of a deal this is,” one user said.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]