PUBG Maker Krafton Announces Plans to Build NFT Metaverse Platform

Krafton, the South Korean video game company behind PUBG: Battlegrounds and TERA, has announced plans to create an NFT metaverse platform.

The company plans to build the platform with NAVER Z, operator of the leading Asian metaverse platform ZEPETO, which has reportedly attracted more than 290 million users worldwide.

ZEPTO is a virtual world that allows users to interact with each other through 3D avatars using AR technology.

Krafton intends to develop a user-generated content creation tool and a high-quality virtual world using Epic Games’ Unreal engine, while NAVER Z will manage the metaverse service as well as community services and social.

“This partnership between KRAFTON and NAVER Z is strengthened by each company’s unique expertise and shared global focus as they envision a future driven by NFTs and metaverses,” said HyungChul Park, Web Team Leader 3.0 from Krafton.

“By combining KRAFTON’s existing technologies and research on how to create scalable ecosystems focused on Web 3.0 creators with the experience and capabilities of NAVER Z and ZEPETO, we are confident that we can create an open metaverse of high UGC-based quality that stands out from other services and boosts the global creator economy with NFT technologies.

Although there is no universally accepted definition, the metaverse is a network of 3D virtual spaces where users can socialize, play and work, and some see it as a successor to the mobile Internet.

Tech companies betting big on the Metaverse include Microsoft, Epic Games, and Bandai Namco.

NFTs are unique, non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain (a form of digital ledger), which effectively allow users to own, buy, and sell digital items such as game items or artwork.

Many gaming companies have already started selling digital items as NFTs, such as Ubisoft and Konami, while others like Square Enix have expressed enthusiasm for the tech trend.

Last week, Team17 quickly backed away from its plans to enter the NFT space after the program received public criticism from a number of development studios whose games were recently distributed by the editor.

A number of other NFT programs have been canceled following negative reception, with the likes of prolific video game voice actor Troy Baker and Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World backtracking on plans. following backlash.

Other companies, however, have been more resistant to criticism of their NFT plans, with one Ubisoft executive recently claiming that gamers “just don’t get it”.