S. Korean Game Industry Places Bigger Emphasis on Overseas P2E Marketing

This photo, taken April 19, 2021, shows signboards showing price movements of virtual currencies on a local exchange. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — With brakes being put on blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) game marketing in the domestic market, South Korean game developers are placing a bigger emphasis on overseas markets.

WeMade Co. officially launched its “Mir M” game in the global market last week. The domestic version, without blockchain functionality, was released in June last year.

According to the company, Mir M is sailing smoothly with the number of global concurrent users breaking the 100,000 mark.

“Our priority is the foreign market. The global market is so huge that we cannot survive by prioritizing the domestic market.” WeMade CEO Chang Hyun-guk said during a press conference at the game trade fair G-Star in November.

Neowiz Holdings Corp., the holding company of Neowiz, which is behind the virtual asset platform NEOPIN, set up a blockchain unit in Abu Dhabi in September last year and is striving to promote cooperation and attract investment from local companies and institutions.

When President Yoon Seok-yeol visited the United Arab Emirates last month, Neowiz Holdings CEO Oh Seung-heon joined the delegation as the only representative of the gaming industry.

A blockchain platform that was established with consideration of P2E games such as Com2uS Corp.’s “XPLA” and Netmarble Corp.’s “Marblex” is also growing through partnerships with various companies in and outside South Korea.

J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)