Gamevil Finds Growth Opportunity Again in NFT

This year, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are gaining attention in the virtual asset market. In March, the NFT digital photo artwork "Everyday" by American digital artist Beeple was auctioned for approximately $69.34 million (about 78.4 billion KRW). NFTs assign unique values to digital content using blockchain technology. Experts expect NFTs to play a vital role in economic activities within virtual reality, known as the metaverse. This is why the growth potential of NFTs is highly valued. Not only paintings, videos, and literary works, but also rare game items, limited edition products, and collectibles can be made into non-replicable digital originals. The Kansong Art Museum created and sold 100 NFTs of the national treasure 'Hunminjeongeum Haerye' in July to overcome financial difficulties. The Hunminjeongeum Haerye NFTs, priced at 100 million KRW each, sold better than expected. Domestically, NFTs are being introduced in fields such as gaming and entertainment. Asia Economy examines the business structure, growth potential, and new business initiatives of Gamevil and Galaxia Moneytree, which are promoting new NFT-related businesses.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyungsoo] NFTs are being competitively introduced in the gaming sector. Amid frequent conflicts between game developers and users over rare items, game developers are considering granting item ownership to users through NFTs. Recognizing ownership of rare items allows users to engage in economic activities through game items. Anticipating new demand, the introduction of NFTs in games is being expedited.

Lee Sangheon, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, explained, "Blockchain technology is changing the gaming paradigm," adding, "With the introduction of NFTs and virtual assets, games are beginning to be used not only for winning but also as a means to earn money."

Play-to-Earn (P2E) refers to a business model where users gain monetary benefits by utilizing blockchain within games, and game companies earn revenue through fees during this process. Starting with P2E, various game business models using blockchain technology are expected to emerge. Combining character collection games, one of the major mobile game genres, with NFTs can create new business models.

Gamevil is a mobile game company established in 2000. It developed mobile games even before smartphones were introduced and has been servicing smartphone games globally since their release. It is a business holding company engaged in holding and mobile game-related businesses. Its main services include "Gamevil Pro Baseball Superstars" and "MLB Perfect Inning." It has four overseas subsidiaries, including Com2uS (29.4% stake), Gamevil Com2uS Platform (100.0%), and Gamevil Plus (100.0%). Following the releases of "Arcana Tactics" and "ROEM" in the first half of this year, new titles such as "Eternal Sword," "Project D," and "Chromatic Soul" are scheduled for release within the year.

Through its global light game business, Gamevil supports the overseas expansion of small and medium-sized developers. It plans to release over 20 light games over three years. By launching games developed by small and medium developers without large marketing expenses, it is expected to continue achieving success in overseas game businesses. Considering that its subsidiary Com2uS is developing large-scale games, this strategy can reduce business overlap between the parent and subsidiary companies.

Gamevil is building an NFT game ecosystem. At the extraordinary shareholders' meeting scheduled for the 30th, Gamevil will change its corporate name to Com2uS Holdings. This name change aims to clarify its status and role as a practical business holding company. It will transform into a comprehensive entertainment company encompassing games, the metaverse, and blockchain.

Through its subsidiary Gamevil Plus, it has acquired a 38.43% stake in the virtual asset exchange Coinone in three rounds since April. It is expected to become the second-largest shareholder by January next year.

Gamevil is exploring various business opportunities such as NFT exchanges and blockchain games in collaboration with Coinone. Along with an NFT exchange based on K-content, it will also release games under development as NFT games.

Gamevil's subsidiary, Gamevil Com2uS Platform, provides most of the elements needed for game development in a single SDK form through the game platform total solution "Hive." Hive is a platform with 20 years of game service technology and know-how, recognized for its technology and stability by showcasing over 50 games. It supports 17 major languages and can comply with data protection laws in the US, EU, and other regions. It also supports payment functions and can be played on Windows and Mac environments. Hive could serve as a foothold for expanding the blockchain-based NFT game ecosystem. As it builds and expands the NFT game ecosystem, Gamevil is expected to have many opportunities for growth.

The reason Gamevil is actively pursuing new businesses is due to stagnation in its existing business sectors. In the second quarter of this year, Gamevil recorded operating revenue of 29.6 billion KRW, down 26.9% year-on-year and 7.6% quarter-on-quarter. Overall performance was sluggish due to decreased investment income from affiliated companies. Business revenue increased by 15.5% quarter-on-quarter to 26.6 billion KRW, driven by increased sales from the baseball lineup and the release of ROEM.

An Jae-min, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "The full-scale launch of the global light game business and performance improvement from expanding Coinone's stake are positive," but added, "Gamevil still needs to show additional results in both the game business and as a holding company."

As this is a time requiring change, NFTs are expected to be an opportunity to enhance Gamevil's corporate value. However, it will take time to generate synergy between NFTs and the gaming business, and competition is likely to intensify as companies like Kakao Games and Wemade are also investing in NFTs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.