[E-Daily Reporter An Yu-ri ] The proportion of employees under the age of 30 at major domestic game companies has declined across the board over the past three years. This is believed to be due to a significant drop in new hires resulting from a combination of factors, including increased work efficiency from the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), a slowdown in the domestic game market, and rising development costs.

According to the 2024–2025 ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reports released on the 13th by major game companies—including NC (NCsoftCorporation(036570)), KRAFTON(259960), Netmarble Corporation(251270), Kakao Games Corp.(293490), and Com2uS Corporation(078340) —the proportion of employees under the age of 30 at these companies all decreased by more than 6 percentage points compared to 2022.

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the AI Era, "Young Blood" at Game Companies Is Dwindling

At NC, the proportion of employees under 30 fell by 6.2 percentage points, from 14.0% in 2022 to 7.8% this year. During the same period, the total number of employees also dropped by 31.8%, from 4,796 to 3,269. This is believed to be due to the impact of voluntary retirement programs and restructuring in 2024.

At Kakao Games Corp., the proportion of employees under 30 fell by 8.7 percentage points, from 22.8% to 14.1%. While the total number of employees increased from 443 to 482, the number of employees under 30 decreased from 101 to 68. In other words, although the organization grew, new hires declined.

At Netmarble Corporation, the proportion of employees under 30 also decreased by 9.5 percentage points during the same period, from 22.5% to 13.0%. While the total number of employees fell by only 5.2%, from 839 to 795, the number of employees under 30 plummeted by 45.5%, from 189 to 103.

Com2uS Corporation also saw the proportion of employees under 30 drop by 6.7 percentage points, from 27.6% to 20.9%. While the total number of employees increased from 1,405 to 1,505, the number of employees under 30 decreased from 388 to 315.

KRAFTON followed the same trend. While the total number of employees rose by 19.6% from 1,772 to 2,120, the number of employees under 30 fell from 439 to 357. Consequently, the proportion of employees under 30 dropped by 8.0 percentage points, from 24.8% to 16.8%.

AI Instead of New Hires… A ‘Cold Snap’ in the Hiring Market

The decline in the number of employees under 30 in the gaming industry is interpreted as the result of a combination of factors, including increased work efficiency driven by the spread of AI, a slowdown in the growth of the domestic gaming market, and rising development and labor costs. The gaming industry is considered the sector within the domestic content industry where the adoption of generative AI is most active.

According to the “Report on Content Industry Trends for the Fourth Quarter of 2025 and the Full Year,” published by the Korea Creative Content Agency last April, the adoption rate of generative AI among domestic game companies reached 70.0% in the fourth quarter of last year. The use of AI is spreading across all sectors, including content production (67.2%), business planning (54.6%), and marketing and public relations (44.5%).

There are also voices in the field expressing concerns about a shrinking job market. Mr. A, who previously worked as a story writer in the gaming industry, said, “The number of job postings has dropped significantly compared to before,” adding, “The gaming and content industries are effectively experiencing a hiring freeze, and the situation is even tougher for small and medium-sized game companies.” Mr. A is currently preparing to leave the gaming industry and seek employment in another sector.

In fact, during the first half of this year, a series of project cancellations at small and medium-sized game companies led to a significant contraction in new graduate hiring. With the exception of Com2uS Corporation, which recruited for a hiring-linked internship program, it was difficult to find any game companies conducting open recruitment for new graduates.

Nexon Networks was one of the few exceptions, recruiting internship-to-hire candidates for its game QA division at the Pangyo Center until the 12th of this month. A Nexon official said, “We are positively considering whether to operate our internship-to-hire program, ‘Nexorial,’ this coming September.”

Current Employees Also Say “AI Threatens Jobs”… 77% of Workers Feel Job Insecurity

Job insecurity stemming from the spread of AI is growing not only among job seekers in the gaming industry but also among current employees. Analysts note that this anxiety has intensified over the past two to three years as domestic game companies have carried out successive large-scale restructuring and voluntary retirement programs under a policy of “selection and concentration.”

In fact, in a survey conducted last April by the IT Committee of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Chemical, Textile, and Food Workers’ Union, which surveyed 1,078 executives and employees at eight domestic game companies, 77.3% of respondents answered that they “feel employment insecurity due to the introduction of AI.” This means that more than three out of four game industry workers perceive that AI will affect their jobs.

Fifty point zero percent of respondents said the impact of AI was “already significant,” while 35.4% said “it is having an impact and there will be even greater changes within the next few months.” In contrast, only 7.2% said “the impact is not significant and will not be felt for at least a year.”