Nexon, a leading domestic gaming company, is gaining attention as it ventures into the P2E (Play to Earn) game market. While P2E games are making a mark on the global stage, they are effectively banned in South Korea, creating limitations on industry growth. The gaming industry hopes that the next administration will ease regulations, allowing P2E games to be permitted in the country.
P2E games utilize blockchain technology to convert resources obtained within the game into cryptocurrency or create items and characters as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for transactions with other users. Compared to existing internet technology referred to as 'Web 2', these are also called 'Web 3' games.
According to the gaming industry on the 21st, Nexon launched its blockchain massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'MapleStory N' in the global market on the 15th. This game is part of the 'MapleStory Universe', which represents an NFT gaming ecosystem based on the MapleStory intellectual property (IP). Nexon provides users with ownership rights for all NFTs obtainable within the MapleStory Universe, allowing users to freely transact or transfer with other users. Nexon has implemented a limited quantity system to preserve the item values in MapleStory N.
Nexon also introduced a coin called 'Nexpace (NXPC)' that functions as a key currency in MapleStory N. NXPC is listed on Upbit and Bithumb, major domestic exchanges, as well as Binance, a large global exchange. Users can earn Neso (NESO) by playing 'MapleStory N', which they can then exchange for NXPC. It is also possible to create NFTs from game items using NXPC and to perform transactions. According to the coin statistics platform CoinMarketCap, as of the afternoon of the 20th, NXPC's market capitalization was approximately 455.8 billion won. Of the maximum supply of 1 billion, 169 million coins have currently been released into the market, amounting to a staggering 3 trillion won when factoring in the maximum supply.
Before Nexon, companies like Wemade, Com2uS, and Netmarble introduced P2E game services overseas. The gaming industry views the potential of this new gaming approach as high. Wemade launched the MMORPG 'Legend of Imir' utilizing blockchain technology in February, and Netmarble's blockchain subsidiary Marvex plans to onboard over 10 new blockchain game projects, including MMORPGs, casual games, and simulations into the Marvex ecosystem by next year.
However, P2E games are effectively banned in South Korea. Currently, the Game Rating and Administration Committee does not permit games that utilize virtual assets or include features that convert them to cash. This is because the committee considers providing NFTs as a 'gambling prize' prohibited under the Game Industry Act. As a result, it is practically impossible for P2E games utilizing virtual currencies to be released in South Korea.
The gaming industry points out the need for regulatory easing to establish P2E games under the next administration. There are concerns that being hindered by regulations could result in missing growth opportunities for the gaming industry. According to mobile app data analysis firm Sensor Tower, the global revenue leader for P2E games in the two major app markets in 2022 was Netmarble's 'Second Country: Cross World', followed by Wemade's 'Mir 4'. However, no domestic gaming company made it to the top ten in global sales for P2E games last year.
An industry official stated, 'Regulatory easing for P2E games has been mentioned as part of every presidential campaign promise', adding, 'Although there is agreement in the political sphere that blockchain games represent a new future opportunity, it has not been realized through regulatory easing.' He further mentioned, 'However, there is a sense of expectation in the industry that if Nexon's P2E game successfully establishes itself, the P2E ecosystem could be built in the country as well.'