WarpPortal Shuts Down All Games In Europe After GDPR Including Ragnarok Online, Rose Online, Dragon Saga

WarpPortal, the online video game publisher known for handling Ragnarok Online, Rose Online and other popular anime-styled MMORPGs has announced that all of their games and services to the European regions will be terminated. As of May 25, 2018, all of the European countries except for Russia Federation and the CIS countries will be blocked by regional IP from accessing their games or accounts. This change is due in large by Europe’s new data protection initiative called GDPR that set into effect on the same day as the announcement.

Some of the games affected are:

• Ragnarok Online
• Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second
• Metal Assault
• Dragon Saga
• Requiem: Rise of the Reaver
• Rose Online
• Record of Lodoss War
• Ragnarok: Restart

What Is GDPR?

General Data Protection Regulation is a regulation in European law that was created to protect personal data of European citizens by ensuring that businesses have the specific measures in place to protect data, prevent misuse of user data and ensure that accountability can be traceable in the event of data breaches. In other words, GDPR is aimed at regulating the methods companies use to process users data.

Some examples of new requirements:
Delete all data – Users can demand for all of their data to be deleted if they no longer use the company’s services or games
Breach notification – All companies have to notify their data authorities within 72 hours after potential data breach
Stop processing – Users can stop their data from being used for marketing purposes

As sad as it is to see Ragnarok Online and other classic MMOs disappear from the hands of such an important and massive region, the company is only one of many that are deciding to take this route instead of complying to GDPR. Compliance to GDPR can require a significant change in how a company processes user data, which some may not have the funds or resources to make. Upgrading storage security can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.

If you are affected by this change, keep in mind that there is a time slot for refunds for WarpPortal purchases from February 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018.

Source: WarpPortal Blog