PUBG Developer Krafton Partners With Solana Labs to Build Blockchain Games and Services

Krafton, the company behind the development of the blockbuster videogame PUBG, has announced a partnership with Solana Labs with the objective of building its blockchain game offering.

The new business plan of the company includes the creation of token economies to power play-to-earn (P2E) experiences to build its own Web3 offerings.

Krafton, one of the biggest Korean game development companies, has proceeded with yet another stage in its recent pivot to blockchain gaming. The creators of the successful multiplayer game PUBG have announced a new partnership with Solana Labs, the developers and maintainers of the Solana blockchain, to power its own tailored Web3 experiences.

The deal between Krafton and Solana Labs involves a “long-term cooperative relationship for the development and operation of blockchain- and NFT-based games and services.” This means that the two companies have agreed to cooperate in the establishment of joint business opportunities and investments, and also in the development of the mentioned blockchain-based games.

The speed and the low fees that Solana offers to its users were big factors in its selection. On this, Hyungchul Park, lead of Web3 Roundtable at Krafton, stated:

As one of the best global high-performance blockchain with strength in high speed and low fees, Solana represents the best of the Web 3.0 ecosystem and its technologies. Through this cooperation, Krafton will acquire the insight needed to accelerate its investment in and output of blockchain-based experiences.

The move could potentially push other leading developers considering blockchain gaming to use Solana as their development chain, as more and more companies are integrating these new technologies into their business models. On this, Johnny Lee, head of Games Business Development at Solana Labs, declared:

We are seeing gamers increasingly seek out on-chain games and gaming companies who respond quickly to this demand will set themselves up well for ongoing success.

Gaming Companies Going Blockchain

Krafton’s movement is part of its recent pivot to blockchain games, NFTs, and Web3. The company acquired equity in two non-fungible token (NFT) and digital IP protection companies, Seoul Auction Blue ($2.5 million) and Xbyblue ($4.1 million) in February. In addition to this, Krafton is also developing a joint metaverse platform with Naver Z, which has experience in building 3D worlds and AI.

Other gaming companies are also pivoting to include blockchain and metaverse-based elements in their games, like Ubisoft and Square Enix.

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