Jang Hyun-guk, Wemade CEO, "Expecting New Release 'Night Crow' to Be No.1 in Korean Market"

by Lee Seungjin

Published 12 Apr.2023 14:39(KST)

Jang Hyun-guk, CEO of Wemade, is answering questions at an online media briefing on the 12th.

Jang Hyun-guk, CEO of Wemade, expressed confidence that the upcoming new release "Night Crow," launching on the 27th, can aim to be the number one game in the Korean market. He also emphasized the need for changes to the current game law, which regulates blockchain-based games in Korea.

Confident in Night Crow's Number One Position

On the 12th, Wemade held the '2023 Q2 Preview Media Briefing' to introduce the new title 'Night Crow' and provide an overview of the company's overall business progress, including blockchain initiatives.

CEO Jang expressed confidence in the success of 'Night Crow,' stating that it could aim for the top spot in the Korean market. The current number of pre-registrations has exceeded 1.6 million.

He said, "From the user's perspective, 'Night Crow' has an overall quality, including graphics, that is incomparably higher than existing games, and the differentiating element, the 'Glider,' can also participate in combat, making it strategically distinctive." He added, "We are also considering a global release within the year, and based on the examples of 'Mir4' and 'Mir M,' the global performance is expected to be several times greater than in Korea."

He continued, "The launch of 'Night Crow' will greatly contribute to Wemade's return to profitability," adding, "Previously, we said we would turn profitable as early as Q1 or at the latest by February or March, and our current outlook is not significantly different from that."

He also mentioned plans to integrate tokenomics (an economic ecosystem using virtual assets and tokens) into 'Night Crow' within the year. CEO Jang said, "Looking at the example of Mir4, I believe the global blockchain version of 'Night Crow' will achieve results more than ten times greater than in Korea," and explained, "While we are still discussing the global release, we are considering launching it within the year."

He emphasized that for blockchain games to succeed, regulations on P2E (Play to Earn) games need to be changed. Under the existing Gambling Act, all of the following conditions must be met to be judged as gambling: ▲betting, ▲determined by chance, and ▲cash redemption (convertibility). Under the Game Industry Act, gambling is defined if ▲betting occurs or ▲it is determined by chance with convertibility.

CEO Jang stated, "At least the regulations on gambling should be consistent, but the stricter gambling regulations in the Game Act are essentially a legislative mistake," and criticized, "I think it was made without sufficient consideration, just to block everything during the Bada Story incident."

The Wemade building in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

"GDAC Hacking Unrelated to Us"

During the briefing, questions arose regarding the recent hacking incident at the virtual asset exchange GDAC. On the 10th, GDAC was hacked, resulting in the theft of approximately 18.2 billion KRW worth of virtual assets. Among these, 10 million Wemix tokens supported for trading by Wemade on GDAC were included, accounting for 80% of the total stolen assets.

CEO Jang said, "All Wemix tokens owned by the Wemix Foundation are stored in the foundation's wallet and are publicly disclosed in real-time," adding, "There is zero possibility that foundation tokens are held on virtual asset exchanges." This means that since foundation tokens were not stolen, their platform or services are not affected.

When asked if his personal Wemix tokens stored on GDAC were stolen, he replied, "Looking at the exchange system, members' Wemix tokens are managed in a consolidated wallet, so it is impossible to identify whose Wemix was stolen," and added, "It is difficult to confirm whose tokens were stolen, so it is reasonable to consider them as common assets of all customers."

CEO Jang has purchased a total of 446,081 Wemix tokens through 13 rounds of Wemade stock dividends and salary payments. The total purchase amount is 715 million KRW, of which 190,080 Wemix tokens were stored in the GDAC exchange wallet.

He expressed a positive outlook, stating that Wemix trading volume has entered a recovery phase. Previously, Wemix faced difficulties after being delisted from major domestic exchanges like Upbit but was recently relisted on Coinone. CEO Jang explained, "The monthly active users (MAU) of Wemix Play, Wemade's blockchain game platform, hit bottom in December last year and have been rising overall this year," adding, "With Wemix relisted on Coinone and Mir M showing results, the trend has shifted to an upward trajectory."

Regarding additional listings on exchanges besides Coinone, he said, "How exchanges list and support tokens depends on their individual circumstances, so we do not have sufficient information or cooperation on this," and added that he is not fully aware of the progress. He mentioned, "We have already applied for listing on major domestic exchanges."