After Consecutive Setbacks, Will Wemade Rebound with Successive Positive Factors?

The Legend of Mir 2

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] A favorable breeze from China is blowing for Wemade, which has faced difficulties due to the delisting of the virtual asset WEMIX. As China, the world's largest gaming market, opens its doors, Wemade is accelerating its business in China.

Wemade: "No Issues with ‘Legend of Mir 2’ Business"

Wemade announced on the 8th that it won the first trial in a lawsuit related to the intellectual property (IP) of ‘Legend of Mir 2’ filed by Actozsoft (hereafter Actoz) in a Chinese court. The Intermediate People's Court of Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, which handled the case, ruled that Wemade has the right to exercise the adaptation rights of the ‘Legend of Mir 2’ IP.

Previously, Actoz had filed a lawsuit seeking to halt Wemade’s authorization of adaptation rights related to ‘Legend of Mir 2’ in China. Through this lawsuit, Wemade confirmed that there are no issues with the licensing business of the ‘Legend of Mir 2’ IP.

Wemade and Actoz have been engaged in a legal dispute over the ‘Legend of Mir 2’ IP for several years. In 2000, Wemade spun off from Actoz and was recognized as a co-owner of the ‘Legend of Mir 2’ IP. In 2001, ‘Legend of Mir 2’ was launched in China through the local publisher Shanda, achieving great success.

Subsequently, when Shanda declared it would stop paying royalties, Actoz and Wemade filed an injunction lawsuit, and the situation shifted in 2004 when Shanda acquired Actoz. The two companies signed a reconciliation agreement to split the royalties from Shanda for ‘Legend of Mir 2’ in a 3:7 ratio between Actoz and Wemade, respectively, but conflicts have continued since then.

Recently, Wemade also secured a court ruling ordering the payment of 11.6 billion KRW in unpaid royalties from Actoz. Additionally, in September, Wemade won a final verdict in a lawsuit against China’s Kingnet and Zhejiang Huanyou regarding the web game ‘Namwoljeon-gi,’ with Kingnet held jointly liable for approximately 95.5 billion KRW in unpaid royalties.

Wemade Office Building Appearance

Accelerating Expansion of China Business

Having confirmed through this lawsuit that there are no issues in utilizing the Mir IP, Wemade plans to accelerate related business activities. Especially as China, which had previously locked down its gaming market, has recently begun issuing game licenses (service permits) to many Korean games, the market is opening up and Wemade is expanding its business in China.

First, Wemade has launched a non-fungible token (NFT) business using ‘Legend of Mir 2.’ Wemade has partnered with China Zhongzhen Yezhong Cultural Development to sell ‘Legend of Mir 2’ NFT products on the Xinwenchang NFT platform, a Chinese cultural media newspaper platform. This is a positive development for Wemade as the state-owned first digital collectibles exchange, the ‘China Digital Asset Trading Platform,’ has been launched and the NFT business is emerging in China.

Wemade is preparing to target the Chinese market by negotiating service contracts with local publishers for ‘Mir 4’ and ‘Mir M.’ Wemade holds the Mir IP, which gained tremendous popularity in China, and is considered a promising candidate for the next game license issuance by Chinese authorities. If Wemade receives a game license from Chinese authorities, synergy with the NFT business is also expected.

Following the announcement of this news, Wemade’s stock price has recently been on an upward trend. It closed at 32,050 KRW on the 3rd, rose to 32,850 KRW on the 4th, increased further to 33,100 KRW the next day, and closed at 33,400 KRW on the 6th.