Tencent, a Chinese language know-how and holding firm with a worldwide footprint, is reportedly exploring the opportunity of buying recreation 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 just isn’t assured, in accordance with Bloomberg.
Nexon is the South Korean online game developer behind the MapleStory collection, a massively multiplayer on-line role-playing recreation (MMORPG) that first gained reputation within the early 2000s as a standard PC recreation.
Web3 gaming continues to be a intently watched use case for blockchain know-how as the power to offer gamers possession over in-game belongings might create a wholly new asset class and create tens of billions of {dollars} in capital.
The corporate built-in blockchain know-how in two totally different installments of the collection, MapleStory N and MapleStory Universe, in Could 2025, permitting customers to gather in-game objects and rewards within the type of non-fungible tokens (NFTS).
Associated: MapleStory revives Avalanche, tops 1M every 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 much like that of conventional online game blockbusters produced by main recreation studios.
This represented a major departure from conventional Web3 video games that usually function easy gameplay mechanics, cartoonish graphics, and a deal with participant rewards somewhat than strong 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 every day distinctive lively wallets, in accordance with DappRadar.
Whereas the crypto gaming sector stays wholesome and titles akin to MapleStory and Off The Grid mirror a shift to increased high quality video games centered 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 ways designed to fuse gaming and cash.
Journal: Can Off the Grid survive Steam’s crypto ban? Rage over Maplestory cheaters: Web3 Gamer
