The release on Steam of the anime-style gacha-less open-world RPG DragonSword: Awakening is facing an obstacle in the form of opposition from South Korean publisher Webzen.
The free-to-play giant publishes DragonSword in Korea as a gacha-driven free-to-play RPG, and it argued yesterday that developer Hound13 is trying to publish its game on Steam (as a single-player, buy-to-play game with no gacha) unilaterally and without Webzen’s prior agreement.
Webzen continues by alleging that it has urged the developer to normalize the service of DragonSword in Korea, but instead of doing that, Hound 13 announced the independent Steam release.
The publisher further argues that Hound 13 has no lawful publishing rights, and the Steam release will create confusion in terms of protecting the interests of Korean and international players and providing damage relief in the future.
As such, Webzen has filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of its publishing rights on the game and requested an injunction that would prevent Hound13 from self-publishing it.
Today, Hound13 has responded on Steam, alleging that Webzen failed to pay 60% of the agreed Minimum Guarantee by the agreed date, which led the developer to issue a notice of contract termination in February 2026.
Webzen then paid the remaining balance in full, but Hound13 argues that the delay compelled them to temporarily suspend their operations.
As a result, the company restructured around its core development team and moved to self-publishing on Steam.
Hound13 further argues that the contract termination on February 13 was lawful due to Webzen’s failure to fulfill its contractual obligation as explicitly stipulated in the publishing agreement. The developer says that it has since communicated this position to Webzen clearly through multiple official written notices.
Hound13 also alleges that Webzen’s claim that “the publishing agreement remains currently valid” is Webzen’s unilateral assertion, and the legal effect of the termination is a matter currently before the courts.
The developer also claims that the Steam service is being launched based on lawful authority, since, following the termination of the contract, Hound 13 retains independent service rights as the developer and copyright holder of DragonSword.
Furthermore, Hound13 mentions that they’re committed to protecting users from any harm. They’re continuing to prepare the Steam release of DragonSword: Awakening without disruption so that all users can enjoy the game with stability. We also hear that development is progressing smoothly, with a demo planned for June 2026 and a full release targeted for July.
We’ll have to wait and see what the court will do regarding the injunction requested by Webzen. One thing is for sure. We don’t really need more gacha-driven Genshin-like games. Anime-style buy-to-play single-player RPGs without any Gacha certainly do feel more palatable from a customer’s point of view.
