Samjong KPMG "Next Year's Game Industry Keywords... Metaverse and NFT"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] As the domestic game market size is expected to approach 20 trillion won next year, the key topics for the gaming industry in 2022 have been identified as the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Samjong KPMG forecasted in its 'Top 10 Trends in the Gaming Industry 2022' report published on the 13th that "the business utilization of the metaverse and NFTs will become full-fledged in the gaming industry in 2022." Samjong KPMG added, "Movements to change the landscape of the gaming industry through new technologies and differentiated strategies will become more active," and predicted that "the dynamism of the gaming industry will unfold in a different way than it does now."

Samjong KPMG presented the 'Top 10 Trends in the Gaming Industry 2022' to help find new business opportunities amid the changing environment. It was analyzed that the gaming industry is focusing on creating new business using the metaverse. The metaverse is a compound word of Meta, meaning transcendence, and Universe, meaning world. It refers to a space where the real world and virtual world are fused and interact with each other. As non-face-to-face culture has become normalized due to COVID-19, the technological acceptance of the metaverse by members of society has increased, and the emergence of the MZ generation and technological advancements are also supporting the growth of the metaverse.

At G-STAR (International Game Exhibition) 2021, domestic game companies, telecommunications companies, and IT firms showed active participation in the metaverse. Since the metaverse market is driven more by content than hardware such as VR and AR (virtual and augmented reality) devices, it is expected to be a new opportunity for game companies that have been producing innovative gaming content.

Another trend presented is NFT, a kind of digital certificate of authenticity that assigns a unique recognition value to digital content using blockchain technology. NFTs are impossible to forge and have easy proof of ownership, making them applicable for trading game avatars or items. In the current situation where users’ dissatisfaction is growing due to high spending and probability-based item issues in game companies, NFTs are attracting attention as a technology that can realize the P2E (Play to Earn) trend, allowing players to earn money while enjoying games.

Of course, concerns about overheated NFT and blockchain games have also been raised. In Korea, game services applying NFTs are legally prohibited, so regulatory risks exist. The report emphasized, "It is concerning that merely mentioning NFTs in companies is attracting attention recently," and added, "While preparation for new changes such as NFTs is necessary, the fundamental enjoyment that games provide should not be neglected."

Recently, it has been proven that casual games and hyper-casual games centered on mobile platforms can generate stable revenue, leading to active entry of large game companies into the casual game genre. Mobile MMORPG games are popular mainly in Korea and some Asian regions. It is expected that there will be more attempts to expand the user base by combining casual elements with RPG genres, as seen in the recently highlighted 'Cookie Run: Kingdom.'

Acquisitions of game developers by large game publishers are also expected to become more active. Kakao Games is internalizing game development capabilities by investing in shares of Lionheart, the developer of 'Odin: Valhalla Rising,' XL Games, Neptune, and others. Through this, they are overcoming risks related to the end of publishing contracts and profitability limits.

Big tech companies are also increasing their entry into the game business. Netflix directly acquired the U.S. game developer Night School Studio in September. In November, Netflix released a total of five games, including a mobile game based on its popular series 'Stranger Things' IP. However, the report predicted that the impact of big tech companies entering the game business on the gaming industry will not be significant yet.

Park Seongbae, Executive Director and Game Industry Leader at Samjong KPMG, said, "This year, large domestic game companies are taking their first steps toward establishing ESG management systems by preparing new businesses utilizing the metaverse and NFTs, as well as setting up dedicated ESG organizations." He added, "Game companies that serve users worldwide are now at a point where they must comprehensively consider the multifaceted elements of ESG."

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