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By Jun Ji-hye
Blockchain is set to become one of the hottest topics at global game exhibition G-Star 2018, which will kick off on Thursday in Busan, as the four-day event will feature various lectures and seminars related to the technology.
Diverse projects attempting to apply blockchain technology to the game industry will also be displayed during the event at a time when an increasing number of game firms as well as startups are paying keen attention to the technology and moving to nurture it as a future growth engine in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Jang Won-bae, a managing director at NHN Global, will deliver a lecture at the Global Game Conference that will be held on Thursday and Friday as part of the game exhibition. He will speak about what opportunities blockchain technology will bring to game industry.
NHN Global is a subsidiary of NHN Entertainment, an online game and services provider.
NHN Entertainment has yet to unveil details of its strategy to foster blockchain-related business. Market observers expect the company to speed up its efforts to nurture the business following Jang's lecture.
The Korea Mobile Game Association will hold a seminar on blockchain and games, during which nine officials from game firms and experts will give a series of lectures.
Hwang Sung-ik, president of the association, said the blockchain ecosystem has emerged as a new blue ocean for game companies, expressing willingness to play a role in helping domestic game firms become a global leader in the area.
"The game industry is one of the areas that can work well with Blockchain technology, so many companies are actively integrating the technology with their game services," said an official from a game company here. "Visitors will be able to experience diverse games utilizing the blockchain technology during the G-Star 2018."
Game firms here have appeared to move quickly to expand their business to the blockchain area.
Nexon's holding company, NXC, acquired Bitstamp, a virtual currency exchange based in Luxembourg, last month, and Korbit, a Korean virtual currency exchange, last year.
Netmarble has also undertaken research and development in the blockchain area, while Wemade Entertainment is developing blockchain-based games through its subsidiary, Wemade Tree.
