South Korea’s GRAC Reportedly Leaks Unannounced Games Again

This is the kind of news that can make gamers excited and game companies nervous at the same time.

A new report claims that the Game Rating and Administration Committee, or GRAC, in South Korea has unintentionally revealed information about games that have not yet been officially announced.

The information appeared through an electronic gazette, which listed new game names including LEGO Skyline and Persona 4 Revival. Because of this, both titles have quickly become hot topics among gamers around the world.

Another Leak From a Rating Authority

This latest incident happened only around one month after a separate security leak involving Indonesia’s game rating system in April.

While the scale of the latest case may not be as large as the previous incident, the fact that information is leaking again from official rating and inspection bodies has raised fresh concern among developers and publishers.

For game companies, timing is extremely important. A project name appearing before an official reveal can affect marketing plans, announcement schedules, and public expectations.

Accident or Legal Process?

At first, many people questioned whether this was caused by an internal mistake during GRAC’s working process.

One reason for the suspicion was that both games did not appear with rating registration numbers on GRAC’s main website. This led many to believe that the publishers may have submitted a Blind Request, asking the agency to hide the information from the main public database for the time being.

However, after inquiries were made to GRAC staff, the agency explained to overseas media that the announcement in the electronic gazette followed the proper legal procedure under Article 24 of the Game Industry Promotion Act.

In other words, even if game companies request that information be hidden from the main website to prevent spoilers or early leaks, South Korean law still requires every game that has been approved for rating, or had its rating cancelled, to be published in the government gazette without exception.

GRAC also stated that this legal condition is explained to developers and publishers in advance before they submit their games for review.

Trust Concerns in the South Korean Game Market

This situation shows a difficult issue for publishers that want to release games in South Korea.

If a company wants to bring a game into the South Korean market, it must pass the rating review process. However, that also means the company may need to accept the risk that information about the game could become public earlier than planned.

This has become a heavily discussed issue in the game industry. It has even been raised before during South Korea’s government audit discussions.

At the same time, South Korea is currently reviewing several areas of its game laws, including rules around random items and measures related to game addiction prevention.

Because of this, some experts believe the government may also need to review and create new legal mechanisms to protect the trade secrets of global game companies.

If the issue is not addressed, it may affect confidence in the South Korean market and reduce the country’s competitiveness as a place for game releases and publishing.

Fans Now Wait for Official Announcements

For fans of LEGO and Persona 4, this leak may be exciting because it suggests that new projects such as LEGO Skyline and the nostalgia-driven Persona 4 Revival are likely in development.

However, nothing replaces an official announcement.

From here, fans will have to wait and see when the developers or publishers decide to properly reveal both games, and what form these projects will actually take.

This GRAC situation shows how complicated game rating systems can become when legal transparency clashes with publisher secrecy. Players may enjoy early leaks, but for developers and publishers, losing control of an announcement can damage carefully planned marketing. If South Korea wants to remain a trusted game market, this issue may need a clearer solution that protects both public law and business confidentiality.

 Via: gamemeca