NCSOFT invests $15 million in blockchain company Mysten Labs

NCSOFT Corp., which announced early this year plans to install non-fungible token (NFT) technology in the global version of its online role-playing game Lineage W, has made a strategic investment in the Palo Alto, California-based blockchain company Mysten Labs.

Mysten Labs on Wednesday said NCSOFT plunked down $15 million in a Series B investment round worth $300 million to form a strategic partnership.

Co-founded last year by its CEO and former Meta (Facebook) executive Evan Cheng, Mysten Labs is a blockchain company known for its Layer 1 blockchain Sui.

Mysten Labs last year made headlines in Korea after securing an investment of $36 million from Samsung Next Ventures, a venture company affiliate of Samsung Electronics, in a Series A financing round.

Early this year, NCSOFT announced in a report on its 2021 fourth-quarter performance plans to launch in Western markets its flagship game Lineage W with blockchain technology, including NFT.

NCSOFT Chief Strategy Officer Yoon Song-yee said, "Blockchain technology holds the potential to produce creative and innovative player experiences," adding, "I consider our newly formed partnership with Mysten Labs, which shares the vision of creating a platform for a player-centric economy, highly meaningful."

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com