The Inside Story of a Blockchain Game CEO Crying Out to the Government to "Lift Regulations"

Appeal from Kim Seok-hwan, CEO of Wemade Tree, to the Government

Despite Rapid Growth of NFT Market
Unable to Receive Rating Due to Gambling Concerns
No Place Due to Opaque Standards
Giving Up Domestic Market and Turning Overseas
"We Want Regulations Without Reverse Discrimination"

"We welcome sound regulation. Please create regulations so that we can conduct business." Kim Seok-hwan, CEO of Wemade Tree, the blockchain subsidiary of Wemade, made this appeal to the government. While most companies typically call for deregulation, Kim’s argument stems from the fact that blockchain game companies have no place to stand domestically due to the government’s opaque standards.

Unable to Even Receive ‘Rating’ in Korea

According to the gaming industry on the 29th, the domestic blockchain game market is frozen. Kim said, "It is difficult to find startups venturing into blockchain game production, and even large companies are not taking aggressive steps." The reason why the blockchain game market, which is attracting global attention, is not developing domestically is due to the lack of clear government standards. While the Korea Creative Content Agency has identified blockchain games as a target for production support projects, the Game Rating and Administration Committee refuses to even rate these games over concerns about gambling, increasing business uncertainty for game companies.

Unlike conventional games, blockchain games allow users to own in-game items. Users can earn tokens through gameplay and trade or cash out game items via NFT (Non-Fungible Token) platforms. The Game Rating and Administration Committee views the fact that "NFTs obtained as a result of incidental game progress can be freely traded and cashed out" as grounds for refusing rating under the Game Industry Promotion Act. Due to this policy, domestic blockchain game developers are giving up on the Korean market and turning their eyes overseas.

Kim argued, "Blocking just because it’s NFT is reverse discrimination." Currently, item trading markets like ItemBay clearly exist, and in fact, NFTs have no intermediaries like item trading sites, making it clear who the seller is and reducing the possibility of scams, thus ensuring transaction safety, he explained. He predicted, "If sound regulations are established and businesses are allowed to operate under regulation, many game companies will jump in."

NFT Game Market Grown Sixfold in One Year

Among major domestic game companies, Wemade was one of the first to turn its attention to blockchain game business. As the PC and mobile game markets became saturated, it sought opportunities in new markets. Wemade established its subsidiary Wemade Tree in 2018 to fully engage in blockchain business. The blockchain platform ‘Wemix’ has secured 50,000 daily users and is establishing itself in the global market.

Outside Korea, blockchain games such as ‘Bird Tornado for Wemix’ and ‘Jae Shin Jeon Gi for Wemix’ are being serviced globally. The electronic wallet ‘Wemix Wallet,’ which stores and exchanges the cryptocurrency Wemix token and game tokens, is also based on the Wemix platform. Kim explained, "We have 200 to 300 developers, including affiliated personnel, dedicated to blockchain-izing games."

Wemade’s entry into blockchain business is driven by market growth potential. According to SK Securities, the NFT-based service and blockchain game market is expected to grow from $340 million (approximately 392.3 billion KRW) last year to $2 billion (approximately 2.3 trillion KRW) this year. Additionally, Wemade Tree plans to actively pursue NFT trading business. Last month, Wemade Tree launched an ‘NFT Market’ where blockchain game items can be minted as NFTs and traded.

Kim emphasized, "The global NFT market, centered on the U.S., is growing rapidly. Especially because game items have significant advantages in the NFT market, the potential for development is great." Wemade is further expanding its blockchain-related business, including investing a total of 80 billion KRW in Bithumb’s largest single shareholder, Vidente. Kim stated, "Just as Wemade pioneered the Chinese market with the Mir intellectual property (IP), we will pioneer the blockchain market."