The MMORPG developer Nexon is one of the largest MMO companies in the world. They have now won a lawsuit against the operator of a private server for the MMORPG Nexus: “The Kingdom of the Winds”. It concerns a fine of 450 million won, about 337,000 euros.
Which game is it about? NEXUS: The Kingdom of the Winds is an MMORPG that was released on April 5, 1996, in South Korea, and it arrived in the USA in 1998. Nexus is a subscription-based MMORPG that is based on Korean mythology.
The game utilizes 2D graphics and offers players many options to improve their characters.
Nexus is a significant milestone in the development of MMORPGs:
- Nexus is considered a technical precursor to the ultra-popular online RPG Lineage by competitor NCSoft. The game is by Jake Song, one of the key MMORPG programmers in South Korea. He later developed Lineage and ArcheAge.
- In 1999, Nexus set a record with 12,263 users active in the same world simultaneously.
- Even today, Nexus is still active – making it the “longest-running MMORPG with graphics”, as it has been played for over 24 years.
What was the lawsuit about? The publisher Nexon initiated investigations against providers of private servers back in 2018. In 2019, operators of such servers were arrested. Now, the “Suwon District Court” has decided that the operators of the private servers must pay 450 million Korean won, which is 336,777 euros.
The ruling states that the server operators violated copyright by copying the game without permission. They had benefited from it and the plaintiff incurred damages from this illegal version.
The original developers seem to even subtly support this. Whether the actual rights holders approve of this is unknown. Much is based on the motto “Where there is no plaintiff, there is also no judge.”
Nexon stated: It is of very high importance for them to eliminate illegal private servers. They monitor the market and respond to situations.
Private Servers – Playing in the Gray Area
Why is this important? Private servers exist not only for MMORPGs like Nexus, which might seem obscure from our Western perspective, but also for popular MMORPGs in the West.
Especially private servers for games that are still actively developed and for which the publisher still earns money constantly face the fear of legal action from developers.
Most private servers exist in a gray area and prefer not to have too much public discussion about them. When a private server for WoW that offered a classic version became very popular, Blizzard took action against it and had it shut down. Some servers also seek refuge in a country where corporations cannot exert direct legal control.
Also, private servers for Metin 2 or for Black Desert have been shut down by publishers.
The situation is somewhat different for MMORPGs that have already been discontinued by the publishers.
Private servers for Warhammer Online now operate openly and advertise that they continue the game that has actually been discontinued. There is a similar situation with Star Wars: Galaxies.
The original developers seem to even subtly support this. Whether the actual rights holders approve of this is unknown. Much is based on the motto “Where there is no plaintiff, there is also no judge.”
