Krafton and Solana Labs Will Partner to Make Games Together
The PUBG games are widely popular worldwide, with over a billion downloads, and now its publisher is partnering with Solana Labs to create and market games. They also have plans to make investments together. This is the second announcement of a Solana NFT game so far after Block Tackle announced plans to release theirs.
On the 23rd of March, Krafton Inc., the South Korean game publisher, announced that they had signed a long-term agreement with Solana Labs, the popular blockchain and NFT company. They revealed that they have plans to create and develop games powered by blockchain and NFT based on the Solana network.
Krafton has joined the league of the many traditional gaming developers entering the Web 3 space. By doing this, they also express interest in economies based on NFT assets and cryptocurrencies. As a massive gaming company, it’s exciting for many gamers and NFT holders that they would be partnering with Solana to create NFT games.
The gaming company has not yet announced whether it would add PUBG or any of its top franchises to the Web3 space or if it would develop a brand new IP for the NFT-driven games on Solana. Although PUBG is the most well-known game, the company has other franchises under its names like Subnautica and Tera, and some mobile games kike Golf King and Bowling King.
When announcing their plans, Hyungchul Park, the lead of the Web 3.0 Roundtable at Krafton, stated, ‘Krafton will continuously see ways to work closely with blockchain companies like Solana Labs as we work toward establishing our Web 3.0 ecosystem. Through this cooperation, Krafton will acquire the insight needed to accelerate its investment in and output of blockchain-based experiences.’
Besides the Solana NFT game, Krafton also announced in February that they would participate in other Web 3 initiatives, including $4.1 million invested in its XBYBLUE subsidiary and $2.5 million in Seoul Action Blue, an online auction platform. Krafton plans to work with XBYBLUE and Seoul Action Blue to create NFT-related projects.
The Popularity of the PUBG Games
Krafton created the popular battle royale shooter franchise, PUBG: Battlegrounds, available on many platforms. The franchise has more than a billion downloads on iOS and Android platforms. It also racked up over 75 million combined downloads for PC and console devices.
The PUBG games work by dropping up to 100 players on an online map, and they engage in battle until only one team is remaining. It first launched a PC game in 2017 and was released even before Fortnite by Epic Games.
The PUBG Mobile game is also free; it has extended to a vast audience globally. In November 2021, it was announced that the game had racked up more than $7 billion in revenue through in-game purchases. They also launched a futuristic-themed PUBG mobile game titled New State Mobile.
This Is the Second Announcement of a Solana NFT Game
Krafton’s announcement of their new Solana NFT game came just a day after Block Tackle, the new Web 3 gaming startup, announced that it would launch a game in the same space. With the backing of Coinbase Ventures, Animoca, and Solana Ventures, the studio raised $5 million in seed funding.
The game is called Skate X, a Solana-based video game based on NFT skateboards. The $5 million seed round was led by Cadenza Ventures and Play Ventures, and Kevin Lin, the co-founder of Twitch, was also an investor in the funding round.
Block Tackle is a new Web 3 gaming studio with co-founders Rob Oshima and Ben Topkins, who worked together at Kabam, a mobile gaming firm. The team also includes veterans that worked in Apple, Lucasfilm, Electronic Arts, Roblox, and Supercell.
With these new Web 3 games from Krafton and Block Tackle, users will be allowed to sell NFT assets or use them in metaverse worlds and other games. This is because NFTs can also be interactive game items.
