[Exclusive] 'BuddyBuddy' to Resume Service Within the Year, "It Will Become a Metaverse"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Following the nostalgic social networking service (SNS) Cyworld, the messenger 'BuddyBuddy' will resume its service within this year. Riding the retro wave sweeping through the IT industry recently, BuddyBuddy is set to make a spectacular comeback and is expected to be implemented as a three-dimensional virtual world, or 'Metaverse', in the long term.

Jang Hyun-guk, CEO of Wemade, stated in an interview with Asia Economy on the 26th, "BuddyBuddy will be launched as a new form of SNS within this year." Wemade is currently working hard on reviving BuddyBuddy. Although Wemade opened the official BuddyBuddy website last March, it has kept quiet about the schedule and the method of service resumption.

Launched in 2000, BuddyBuddy was a PC messenger that gained tremendous popularity among teenagers and people in their twenties at the time. In 2008, it recorded a domestic messenger market share of 56%, making it known as the 'national messenger.' In 2008, Wemade attracted attention by acquiring BuddyBuddy, an unusual move for a game company. The strategic decision was to absorb the teenage user base by utilizing BuddyBuddy. However, as KakaoTalk, NateOn, and others dominated the market and competition intensified, the service was discontinued in 2012, just four years later.

CEO Jang predicted, "BuddyBuddy will eventually become a Metaverse." The Metaverse is a three-dimensional virtual world. It is a compound word of 'meta,' meaning transcendence or abstraction, and 'universe,' meaning the real world. In Korea, Naver's subsidiary Naver Z's 3D avatar app 'Zepeto' is considered a representative Metaverse platform. Zepeto, with 200 million subscribers, is an SNS service where users create their own avatars and enjoy games or activities with others in virtual spaces. BuddyBuddy is highly likely to adopt a service model similar to Naver's Zepeto in the future.

BuddyBuddy is expected to initially take the form of a messenger. Wemade is also planning a voice messenger service similar to the recently popular 'Clubhouse.' CEO Jang explained, "Since BuddyBuddy was a messenger, it will first be a messenger, then voice chat, and then evolve into a Metaverse."

With BuddyBuddy's revival following Cyworld, the retro trend in the IT industry is expected to intensify further. CEO Jang added, "We aim to launch a new SNS within this year that surpasses the former glory of BuddyBuddy."