Tencent, a Chinese language expertise and holding firm with a world footprint, is reportedly exploring the potential of buying sport developer and writer Nexon.
Representatives from the tech firm contacted the household of Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju to discover a possible deal, however no concrete phrases have been reached and a deal shouldn’t be assured, in response to Bloomberg.
Nexon is the South Korean online game developer behind the MapleStory sequence, a massively multiplayer on-line role-playing sport (MMORPG) that first gained recognition within the early 2000s as a standard PC sport.
Web3 gaming continues to be a intently watched use case for blockchain expertise as the flexibility to offer gamers possession over in-game belongings may create a completely new asset class and create tens of billions of {dollars} in capital.
The corporate built-in blockchain expertise in two totally different installments of the sequence, MapleStory N and MapleStory Universe, in Could 2025, permitting customers to gather in-game gadgets and rewards within the type of non-fungible tokens (NFTS).
Associated: MapleStory revives Avalanche, tops 1M day by day transactions twice in per week
Curiosity in Web3 gaming surges, however nonetheless removed from mainstream
Based on a February 2025 report from DappRadar, blockchain gaming exercise surged by roughly 368% year-over-year in January 2025, pushed by video games like Off The Grid and the then-upcoming MapleStory N.
Off The Grid is a AAA shooter, printed by Gunzilla Video games, that options console-level graphics and gameplay just like that of conventional online game blockbusters produced by main sport studios.
This represented a big departure from conventional Web3 video games that sometimes function easy gameplay mechanics, cartoonish graphics, and a deal with participant rewards quite than sturdy gameplay.
Regardless of the preliminary spike in participant curiosity that began in late 2024, Web3 gaming exercise declined by 10%, mirrored by a drop in day by day distinctive energetic wallets, in response to DappRadar.
Whereas the crypto gaming sector stays wholesome and titles comparable to MapleStory and Off The Grid mirror a shift to larger high quality video games targeted on participant expertise, Web3 gaming nonetheless faces a number of headwinds.
Chief amongst these impediments to widespread Web3 gaming adoption are the technical barrier to entry of organising a blockchain pockets and the normal gaming neighborhood’s aversion to play-to-earn video games and different techniques designed to fuse gaming and cash.
Journal: Can Off the Grid survive Steam’s crypto ban? Rage over Maplestory cheaters: Web3 Gamer