Game developers rush to launch their own digital coins

South Korea’s game developers are in a tight race to create their own digital tokens and to build viable ecosystems that utilize these cryptocurrencies. Toward this end, the game companies are pushing ahead in their quest to release the most pervasive blockchain-based products.

ISSUANCE SPREE 

Neowiz Holdings Corp. announced its plans for a full-fledged launch of its token business. 

The holding company’s blockchain subsidiary Neoply made the announcement Thursday, during the launch of its blockchain platform Neopin’s mobile app that provides DeFi services. 

Neowiz  will not only offer interest on cryptocurrencies deposited into a Neopin account but also its own digital asset dubbed Neopin Token (NPT.) The token was first issued in Dec. 2021. 

Come next month, the South Korean game developer will release a P2E game that utilizes NPT and in the second quarter, non-fungible token (NFT) services.

South Korea's largest mobile gaming company Netmarble Corp. has also been gearing up for a proper entry into the cryptocurrency market. 

Word on the street is that it will release a Klaytn-based token in the first half of this year. Klaytn is tech giant Kakao Corp.’s global public blockchain project. 

There is already an existing token under the Netmarble umbrella.

The gaming giant’s subsidiary Netmarble F&C, Inc. recently acquired ITAM Games, whose P2E (play-to-earn) gaming ecosystem is operated by the company’s namesake token called ITAM Cube. 

P2E games are an emerging gaming sector where players can earn profits in various ways through gameplay using blockchain technology.

Netmarble will introduce a string of blockchain-based games, starting with A3: STILL ALIVE’s global version next month, followed by Golden Bros, Second Country: Cross Worlds, and more. 

STILL ALIVE is a survival battle royale MMORPG, an online role-playing video game in which a large number of users can play simultaneously. 

WeMade Co. leads the country’s blockchain-based gaming business with its cryptocurrency dubbed WeMix. The company plans to bump up the number of its games using WeMix to at least 100. 

Since the beginning of 2022, the game developer has been working with several other companies in the industry, like Mgame and Storm Games, to assist in the adoption of the WeMix token on their platforms.

RESERVE TOKENS

Com2uS Holdings Corp. and its subsidiary Com2uS Corp. will issue their digital currency C2X in the first half of this year.

Just like WeMade, Com2uS has been working to secure industry partners to expand the token’s usage. 

Most recently, the Kosdaq-listed company joined hands with NTrance Corp. to publish a blockchain version of the latter’s existing mobile game, DK Mobile. 

Com2uS will also enable C2X adoption on about a dozen of its own games, including the Summoners War: Chronicles.

The common goal among the game developers is to construct the companies’ respective digital token ecosystems. To meet that objective, the developers are focusing on pushing out blockchain-based products that use digital currencies.

A company’s market share in the blockchain game industry grows with the number of its token holders. The more the users are exposed to active ownership and use of the particular token, the better for the issuing company.

“Rising demand for a specific token pushes up its coin price, creating a positive cycle,” an industry expert told The Korea Economic Daily. 

The cycle does not end there. 

Higher token prices also translate into increased corporate value and the popularity of games that use digital assets. The token issuers will also enjoy reaping the transaction fees that come out of the NFT exchanges. 

In the case of WeMade, for example, it enlarged the size of the company by unloading some of its tokens to players.

Industry insiders are hopeful that the token that emerges dominant in the gaming industry will later develop into a widely accepted form of payment – similar to mobile or credit card payments.

By Joo-Wan Kim

kjwan@hankyung.com

Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.