Major Domestic Game Companies Also Enter 'P2E' Market...Global Competition Expected to Intensify

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As "Play to Earn" (P2E) becomes a global trend, major domestic game companies in Korea are set to actively enter the P2E market this year. They are expected to target overseas markets through various methods such as new game development, M&A, and utilizing existing games.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, Netmarble is currently negotiating to acquire the blockchain game platform "Item Games." The investment scale for acquiring management rights is about 15 billion KRW, and the negotiations are expected to conclude as early as this month.

Item Games is a blockchain game developer operating the EOS-based game platform "Item Store." Netmarble is likely to design a P2E model based on Item Games' platform.

Netmarble is initially stepping into the P2E market through its subsidiary. Jam City, Netmarble's North American subsidiary, recently established a dedicated blockchain department and unveiled the blockchain-based P2E game "Champions: Ascension." This game features a fantasy world centered on users, where players can earn rewards through battles with other players and own them in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NCSoft is also entering the P2E market this year. It is reported that all technical preparations related to P2E have been completed, and the company has entered the stage of concretizing the application of the P2E model.

Currently, there is a high possibility that NFTs will be applied to NCSoft's flagship intellectual property (IP), Lineage. Hong Won-jun, NCSoft's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), previously stated, "We believe MMORPGs are the genre most suitable for NFTs," and added, "You probably already know which game we will apply it to without me saying."

He said, "We have completed the technical review for issuing our own coin," and "We are considering how to implement it in a way that is stable within our economic system and provides value to users."

As leading domestic game companies enter the P2E market, competition among Korean game companies in the global P2E game market is expected to intensify.

Wemade, a pioneer in P2E games, has set a goal to onboard 100 blockchain games onto its blockchain platform "Wemix" this year. It is expanding the Wemix ecosystem by signing business agreements with companies such as Webzen, Angel Games, Clover Games, and Supercat.

Com2uS Holdings will introduce blockchain games that have joined its ecosystem to the global market starting from the first quarter of next year. Leading with its self-developed new title "Chromatic Souls: AFK Raid," it is actively developing "Summoners War: Chronicle," based on a global hit IP, and the large-scale MMORPG "World of Zenonia," utilizing its flagship IP. Com2uS Holdings is also collaborating with many game companies to expand the blockchain platform "C2X" ecosystem.

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