In what looks like an attempt to bring more blockchain games into the mix, South Korean gaming company NCSoft has joined hands with Mysten Labs, a Web 3.0 firm. For the unversed, Mysten Labs is the brain behind Sui, a layer-1 blockchain meant for creators.
NCSoft has put in $15 million in Mysten Labs. The investment is part of the $300 million funding gig, planned by Mysten Labs in September. However, it is important to note that NCSoft investment isn’t a direct approach to launch Blockchain games at a clip.
Instead, the $15 million investment will focus on developing the Sui blockchain further, primarily for leveling the playing field for all other Web 3.0 games. The partnership shows that despite the bear market, funders have been bullish on blockchain games.
More about NCSoft and Mysten Labs
If you have played games like Guild Wars and Lineage, it is likely that you would have heard about NCSoft. The company has been developing and launching popular online games since 1997. However, this is only the second instance when the company has moved towards Web 3.0 exposure, especially by investing in an infrastructure development firm — Mysten Labs.
Yet, this isn’t NCSoft’s first Web 3.0 rodeo. In November 2021, the company announced the introduction of NFT-based blockchain games in 2022, with a Play-to-Earn model at its core.
Why Sui?
NCSoft’s latest investment in Mysten Labs might aim at furthering the 2021 plan. And more than Mysten Labs, the investment concerns Sui — a blockchain that was developed keeping low costs and improved creator incentivization in mind.
What’s important is that Sui’s object-oriented architecture and scalability make it a great choice for building densely populated blockchain games. Most importantly, with Sui, the user experience associated with Blockchain games will improve, something that has previously attracted a lot of flak.
Dr. Songyee Yoon, CSO at NCSoft, believes that blockchain technology can build novel experiences and the partnership with Mysten is one step close to achieving the same, not to mention distributed player/ creator economy and improved community building.
