A dev removes content the moment players spot it — if there's nothing to hide, why the panic delete? The latest 'IVE-gate' in NetEase's flagship MMO 'Justice Online' (逆水寒) might be one of the most spectacular operational faceplants in recent Chinese gaming history.
It started with a routine game update. Players quickly noticed that premium rewards — tied to a gacha currency called '天赏石' (Sky Appreciation Stones, with a pity system guaranteeing pulls worth at least 3,000 RMB) — contained the letters 'IVE.' For those unfamiliar, IVE is the name of one of Korea's biggest girl groups, currently drowning in a cultural appropriation scandal.
To understand why this blew up, you need the IVE backstory. According to community compilations, IVE's music videos repeatedly showcased traditional Chinese scenes and cultural elements while marketing them as 'the beauty of Korea' — textbook cultural appropriation. But here's the kicker: their agency, Starship Entertainment, filed lawsuits against Chinese TikTok (Douyin) accounts, demanding thousands to tens of thousands of yuan in damages and banning Chinese fans from posting dance cover videos.
That's right — promote this K-pop group in China and you won't get a thank-you, you'll get a lawsuit. The controversy erupted across entertainment circles. IVE's latest comeback achieved an unprecedented 'zero music show wins,' and even other Korean idol groups stopped doing their signature 'Challenge' dance collaborations with them. China Unicom and other major companies also publicly distanced themselves.
So when NetEase's ancient China-themed MMO suddenly embedded 'IVE' into premium reward items, players lost it. The accusation? 'Gōngkuǎ zhuīxīng' (公款追星) — literally 'chasing idols with public funds,' Chinese internet slang for a company using its revenue (in this case, player whale money) to secretly promote their favorite celebrity. NetEase has been accused of this before, making the pattern feel damning.
NetEase's response was a masterclass in how NOT to handle a crisis. First, they silently deleted the 'IVE' text from the game. Then community managers (社管, shèguǎn — paid moderators who patrol Chinese gaming forums to control narratives on behalf of the company) jumped in to do damage control.
The community manager's defense? That 'IVE' was actually a reference to the 'Ivy League' — the American university consortium. In a wuxia-themed MMO set in ancient China. Players were not amused, calling it an insult to their intelligence.
One top comment captured the paradox perfectly: 'Fine, let's say it's fake — then why did you delete it at the speed of light?' They attached before-and-after screenshots as evidence.
Other commenters urged caution: 'I'm not defending anyone, but those comparison images don't quite line up,' and 'Is this all the evidence? It feels like a stretch.' These voices of reason were largely drowned out.
But for most players, years of accumulated frustration with NetEase's operations boiled over. 'Classic NetEase move — spending our money to chase their K-pop bias,' one wrote. Another dug up old NGA discussions about IVE's cultural appropriation, noting that 'Koreans are obsessed with Zhangjiajie — it's practically a rite of passage for Korean tourists, and if you don't take your parents there, you're considered an unfilial child,' illustrating how cultural 'borrowing' runs deep.
Some raised fair points: 'If this group had no track record, forcing a racism narrative from one screenshot would only backfire — people who weaponize national grievances to farm drama are worse.' But as the silent deletion and bumbling community management spiraled, more players joined the popcorn brigade.
As for the community managers doing cleanup duty? Players called them out by name: 'Even this openly known shill account has come back from the dead to defend them.' Player tolerance for corporate damage control has clearly hit rock bottom.
The 'IVE' text is now gone from the game, and the official fan community is in full censorship mode ('绝赞堵嘴中' — 'wonderfully suppressing dissent,' as NGA users sarcastically put it). But the Streisand Effect never fails. With NetEase's history of 'gōngkuǎ zhuīxīng' stacking on top of IVE's well-documented controversies, this double-debuff combo isn't going away anytime soon.
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