Game Industry United in Calling for Easing Regulations on Money-Making 'P2E' Games

Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble, is answering questions from the press at the 5th NTP (Netmarble Together with Press), the Netmarble Vision and New Game Development Presentation held on the morning of the 27th at G-Tower in Guro-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The domestic gaming industry is raising calls for deregulation of 'P2E games,' which are games that generate income. P2E is considered an essential element for the gaming industry, which is facing a growth stagnation amid global trends, but it is classified as illegal in South Korea.

P2E games, as the name suggests, are games where players can earn money while playing. They operate in various ways, from simple structures that reward coins convertible to cash upon completing quests (missions) to creating in-game content such as items or characters as blockchain-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) that can be traded among users.

Overseas, P2E games are being released one after another. According to global mobile app market analysis firm App Annie, the Vietnamese game company WolfFun Games released the MOBA game 'Setan Arena' worldwide, including South Korea, in November last year. By December, just two months after its release, it recorded 10 million cumulative downloads. It ranked first globally among fighting action games for downloads recorded in December alone.

As the popularity of P2E games rises, the gaming industry is advocating for deregulation. On the 7th, when ruling party figures supporting Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, visited Com2uS, CEO Song Jae-joon emphasized the need to ease domestic P2E-related regulations. At that time, he indirectly criticized the regulations by saying, "The P2E market is growing explosively, but due to government regulations, we are in the unfortunate situation of having to release games only in 200 countries excluding South Korea and China."

Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble, who plans to release at least 14 games applying NFTs by next year, said, "Many domestic and international game companies are preparing blockchain-based games, and it is a global trend, but it is quite unfortunate that only Korea cannot provide these services." He added, "It is not about banning the release of P2E games but allowing their release while regulating side effects that is desirable."

Netmarble plans to release 'Modoo Marble: Meta World,' which applies NFTs using its representative game IP 'Modoo Marble,' within this year. The game recreates real-world spaces where players can build on plots and buy and sell NFT-based real estate. Netmarble is developing 'Modoo Marble: Meta World' as a so-called P2E game that utilizes cryptocurrency to convert game earnings into cash. In South Korea, P2E game operations are blocked, so it will be released only as an NFT game. The overseas version will apply both NFT and P2E methods.