Webzen issued an official statement on Feb. 19 in response to Hound13’s notice terminating a publishing contract. Webzen rejected the reason given for non-payment of the remaining contract money and said it will implement measures to protect users, including halting payment functions and issuing full refunds.

Webzen said it made an investment of about 30 billion won in Hound13 in January 2024, supporting development costs for Dragon Sword and securing publishing rights. The original development completion date was March 2025, but the developer repeatedly requested schedule delays, and Webzen said it had accepted them to ensure quality.

Webzen also raised objections to the reason cited for not paying the remaining balance of the minimum guarantee (MG·Minimum Guarantee). Webzen said, "With service performance after launch lower than expected, we judged that it would be difficult to maintain stable service even if we paid the remaining balance," adding that it had already provided support to sustain the project, including pre-emptively paying part of the MG that was contractually due after formal service in two instalments in December last year and January this year. It also added that, to prevent service from being unilaterally halted due to the developer’s lack of funds, it had proposed additional investment for at least 1 year of operating funds and continued discussions.

Webzen said it takes very seriously that Hound13 announced both a notice terminating the contract and a public post at the same time without prior agreement while those discussions were under way.

After Hound13 took the position of stopping its response for live service operations, Webzen said it judged normal service 대응 to be difficult and decided to immediately implement user-protection measures. Specifically, it will stop payment functions after the time of the notice and will refund in full the amounts paid from launch to the present. The game service will be maintained in its current state until a separate notice. It plans to provide details on refund procedures and methods through a separate notice.

Webzen said, "We are reviewing necessary response measures from multiple angles so that inconvenience does not arise for customers using the service," and added, "We will do our best to protect customers with a responsible attitude to the end."