Netmarble and Krafton Join the Fray... Gaming Industry's NFT War

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The competition to dominate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the gaming industry is intensifying. NFT trading itself has rapidly emerged as a source of fun within games, and with the realization of the metaverse (extended virtual world) becoming more tangible, the utilization of NFTs is expected to increase further.

On the 27th, Netmarble held ‘Netmarble NTP,’ an event to announce its future vision and new game lineup, revealing plans to advance blockchain and metaverse businesses linked to games. Among the 20 new titles introduced that day, 14, accounting for 70%, are games incorporating blockchain technology, where NFTs are expected to be utilized.

Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble Coway, said, "Netmarble plans to proceed with its blockchain business through a two-track strategy," adding, "Netmarble pursues a model that combines blockchain centered on games, while Netmarble F&C will implement a model that combines games and content centered on blockchain."

Chairman Bang predicted that industries utilizing NFTs will grow into a standalone industry within 2 to 3 years. He emphasized, "The products (items, etc.) obtained through various actions in blockchain games are connected to virtual assets, which can be converted into real-world physical assets. This should be seen as a second reality world where new honorary and economic activities take place."

On the same day, Krafton also declared its entry into the NFT market. Kim Chang-han, CEO of Krafton, presented ‘Krafton’s direction for 2022’ through the internal communication program ‘Krafton Live Talk.’ He particularly emphasized Web 3.0 and NFTs. Web 3.0 refers to a stage that provides intelligent web services tailored to individual preferences.

CEO Kim stated, "Web 3.0 is an ecosystem where more authority shifts to creators and consumers, accelerating C2E (Create to Earn)," and added, "Krafton will focus on its core role and strengths as a game company but will empower creators to produce new content and continue challenges with capable partners."

As NFTs become a hot topic in the gaming industry, new titles utilizing them are expected to be released within the year. Notably, Netmarble’s sequel to ‘Modoo Marble,’ titled ‘Modoo Marble: Meta World,’ will be launched this year. This game is an NFT game that builds a metaverse platform based on real estate, featuring economic activities using virtual real estate.

NHN 333 (Nesysamsipsam Bun) plans to introduce a total of eight games to the global market this year, including two NFT games and six new mobile and PC games. The company’s first NFT game, tentatively titled ‘ING Project,’ is being developed as an RPG (role-playing game) where the in-game economy system, equipment items, and resources are all implemented on blockchain.

Wemade Max’s blockchain game ‘Rise of Stars’ is also nearing release. The first batch of pre-sale for NFT flagship items sold out immediately after launch. This game offers a new game token called ‘Silderium’ and flagship items applied with NFTs.

Com2uS Holdings and Com2uS are in the final stages of development and platform construction for issuing their own cryptocurrency (tentatively named C2X). They plan to issue tokens and publish a white paper in early February.

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