Kyu Lee interview — Why Com2Us Holdings pivoted into blockchain video games

Kyu Lee, president of Com2Us USA, has been making cell video games like Summoners Warfare for a few years. However a couple of years in the past, the entire firm began exploring making video games utilizing blockchain and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

In 2020, the Seoul-based firm invested in Coinone, an enormous cryptocurrency trade in South Korea, and it invested in Wysiwyg Studio. It seemed for companions and invested in Animoca Manufacturers, Sandbox, Upland, and Legendary Video games. It additionally rebranded itself globally from Gamevil to Com2Us Holdings.

And now the corporate is pivoting in a serious manner, going past free-to-play cell video games which have introduced it nice prosperity and partnerships with manufacturers just like the NBA. Its complete employees is diving into NFT video games and different blockchain know-how, and it’ll give attention to them in the identical manner that it centered on the transition to free-to-play mobiel video games a few years in the past.

This makes Com2Us one of many largest cell sport corporations to maneuver into NFT video games. Established in 1998 and headquartered in South Korea, Com2uS grew to become a subsidiary of cell sport writer Gamevil in 2013 (and now the entire firm is Com2Us Holdings). Com2Us’ Summoners Warfare has greater than 100 million downloads and $2 billion in gross sales.

Com2Us video games coming quickly embody Chromatic Soul: AFK, Kritika: the White Knights, Undertaking MR , and Summoners Warfare: Chronicles. Blockchain video games coming quickly embody Baseball Superstars, World of Zenonia, and The Nice Service provider.

I caughter up with Lee about this pivot and quizzed him about it. Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview.

Above: Kyu Lee is president of Com2Us.

Picture Credit score: Com2Us

GamesBeat: It seems like an enormous pivot for Gamevil and Com2Us. Are you able to speak in regards to the context and the background?

Kyu Lee: In 2020 we began investing in Coinone. Coinone is the third largest crypto trade in South Korea. We have been at all times typically within the blockchain house, however we didn’t have any motion gadgets, so to talk. We knew that there was a number of traction there. We knew we would have liked to check it a bit extra. We determined to put money into an trade. That might be one of the simplest ways to begin studying.

After that, NBA High Shot got here round. As a result of we’re additionally very concerned within the sports activities collectible market in some methods – we’ve 4 video games with Main League Baseball, and we even have a sport with the NBA – we have been attempting to determine NFTs. We have been considering this was going to be mass market. It’s an enormous sign {that a} high model just like the NBA was getting on high of that.

Once we noticed the numbers arising from Axie Infinity, we performed the sport. We noticed that there’s a lot alternative. There are such a lot of hurdles within the sport that it was unbelievable, however it was additionally unbelievable that it was producing that a lot revenue, and so many individuals have been enjoying. That’s what obtained us into it. We began speaking to our inside manufacturing groups to make this factor actual. We began getting ready, researching the video games. Our CEO, Yong Kuk Lee, has a number of curiosity on this house. He’s at all times been eager about the metaverse and all of that.

What occurred within the meantime, we acquired an organization known as Wysiwyg Studios. Wysiwyg Studios is a publicly listed South Korean firm. They’re initially a VFX studio. They’ve executed a number of issues within the metaverse preparation space, so to talk. However after we acquired them, we did it as a result of we thought Netflix was the brand new app retailer for all the TV manufacturing corporations in South Korea. There’s a lot nice expertise in South Korea, however they have been solely distributing their content material by the native TV service suppliers. With Netflix, there’s extra room for–there’s an enormous firm known as Studio Dragon that does a number of distribution by Netflix. We thought there was rather more play to be executed, so we thought we must always purchase Wysiwyg and roll up a number of TV manufacturing studios beneath it.

There’s a number of synergies between the leisure enterprise, the webtoons, the IP creation that they’re doing. They at all times wished to accomplice with a gaming firm and we at all times wished to increase our IP. We’ve executed that by our partnership with Skybound, however how can we do extra of this? That was the imaginative and prescient we had. All of this stuff pointed in a course the place we needed to go Web3. We needed to do metaverse. We needed to do blockchain gaming. We needed to do NFTs. That’s how we ended up investing in Sweet.com. Sweet.com has the unique rights for Main League Baseball NFTs. We went in with Perception and Softbank. We put in $10 million of funding there.

Above: Com2Us Holdings is transferring into blockchain video games.

Picture Credit score: Com2Us

Whereas our firm was transferring its manufacturing groups over, on the lookout for the fitting blockchain and the fitting companions, we thought that cash may transfer quicker. We began speaking to all the high gamers within the blockchain gaming and metaverse house. That’s how we ended up investing in Animoca Manufacturers, Sandbox, Upland, and Legendary Video games. These have been the 4 investments that we additionally did. These have been all fairly late-stage, already established corporations, however it was a good way to get our foot in and perceive what’s occurring, construct relationships throughout the ecosystem, and in addition promote that we’re not solely only a gaming firm, however we’ve ambitions to turn into a blockchain gaming firm too.

I believe it labored out fairly properly. After we began doing these investments–all of those have been oversubscribed rounds, however I believe everybody was completely satisfied to have a gaming firm. We’re not the most important gaming firm on the earth, however we’re a longtime gaming firm approaching their cap desk. They have been very welcoming of our entry into the house. All of them made room for us to speculate. We’re very completely satisfied about that. Now we’re taking a look at much more corporations to put money into, even at earlier phases. We wish to turn into like what Animoca is doing. That appears actually cool.

Our method inside–we considered a number of completely different chains. There are such a lot of nice chains and options that we may have adopted. Personally, I really like what Solana is doing and the way they’re increase an ecosystem that’s going to be superior to run video games, due to the pace and all that. However we determined to work with Terra. Terra being a South Korean firm and such a longtime firm within the crypto house–they’ve a tremendous ecosystem. I used to be fairly shocked that they weren’t as well-known within the west. It looks as if even throughout the previous few months, although, they’ve been gaining a lot traction.

If you’re solely doing a stablecoin play or a DeFi play, it doesn’t acquire a number of traction among the many app builders or the leisure house, the place we’re. After they introduced their good contracts I’m seeing so many tasks being constructed on Terra. Simply studying by the a whole bunch of pages of paperwork in English is a troublesome one to swallow for our improvement workforce. Having a South Korean workforce–Do Kwan, the CEO, is wonderful. Having his workforce to assist us was an ideal match. We’re very proud of the connection that we’ve with Terra. We’re constructing an NFT market that’s going to have Ok-pop stars and all of the leisure manufacturers we’ve. It’s going to be about gaming too. We’re additionally going to make use of them as our blockchain accomplice. We’re going to construct wallets collectively and every little thing else we have to service our video games.

Above: Com2Us is engaged on a number of blockchain video games.

Picture Credit score: Com2Us

GamesBeat: It looks as if about as full a pivot as you can do. Are you planning to nonetheless do non-NFT, non-blockchain cell video games?

Lee: There are nonetheless a number of restrictions on the place we will service our video games and the place we will’t. The very attention-grabbing factor that I realized, although, is that after you step into this facet of the world, the opposite facet appears so stale and boring. I’ve been telling my buddies–all of those individuals, once they step into this new world, all people talks about the identical factor. This seems like the way it felt when cell was beginning. Simply having that really feel of enjoyment and studying every little thing that you may. Ensuring that you simply’re on the beat on a regular basis. That in itself is so rewarding.

We nonetheless have a number of merchandise which are going to launch as scheduled. However I believe a number of our manufacturing heads have gotten rather more open-minded about transferring over. They’ve been launching sport after sport. They most likely wanted one thing new like this.

GamesBeat: The builders themselves are taken with going this course, then?

Lee: Sure, sure. This empowers you in a number of methods. I solely observed how–when the App Retailer first got here round, I believed, “Oh, let’s have a digital forex that may run throughout all of our video games. Let’s make a market the place the customers can purchase and promote.” We had these concepts. However by following the principles, we contained ourselves into a hard and fast mind-set. With all of those blockchain applied sciences enabling sport builders, you understand, “Oh, I forgot that we may do this!” We run into so a lot of these moments. It’s one other useful gizmo for sport builders to specific themselves. If you wish to use that software, we wish to encourage that.

Clearly there are going to be a number of video games that work higher within the Web2 world. However there are going to be tons of latest kinds of video games that we’ll see within the Web3 world.

GamesBeat: Is there a sure proportion of the corporate that’s devoted to engaged on this, or is principally everybody engaged on it?

Lee: At this stage, it’s everybody. The order is coming from the highest in our firm. Everybody goes to undergo the academic curve. We began out having a small workforce, however now that there are such a lot of completely different tasks concerned–it’s not something secret, and it’s not only one or two tasks. We’ve already introduced round 10 tasks for the brand new 12 months. We pivoted a number of the video games we have been planning to launch this 12 months or early subsequent 12 months, and we’re repositioning them in order that they’ve a play-to-earn or NFT side.

In case you keep in mind when in-app purchases first got here out on the App Retailer, I don’t assume each sport unexpectedly went over to free-to-play, following the true spirit of free-to-play. There have been some restricted adoption efforts. I believe we’ll undergo that very same course of. Not every little thing could also be totally baked in. We’ll be taught so much. We’ll fail so much, however no less than from a gaming perspective, I believe we’re bringing within the best-looking video games. All the video games I’ve checked out up to now, they’re good, however they’re tremendous excessive manufacturing high quality. A variety of the video games we’re releasing even within the subsequent 12 months have been in improvement for 4 or 5 years.

Above: Com2Us began in 1998 and merged with Gamevil in 2013.

Picture Credit score: Com2Us

GamesBeat: Did you see the Ubisoft announcement about NFTs in Ghost Recon Breakpoint?

Lee: I noticed the hyperlink.

GamesBeat: It’s the tiniest of steps. I believe it’s meant to coach the market and get individuals to simply accept it. It’s a really strictly managed distribution to individuals who performed a number of the Ghost Recon sport. And even those that purchase in on the secondary market must have performed the sport as properly. They’re not promoting the NFTs. They’re being as cautious as you’ll be able to going into this. [Ubisoft pulled down a video due to lots of negative feedback].

Lee: There’s going to be a number of child steps. However these video games are going to look a lot better. A variety of the newer tasks which are ranging from the bottom up in our studios, they’ll most likely attempt to consider how they will undertake the know-how as a lot as potential. However these video games will take one other two, three, 4, nevertheless a few years. Who is aware of? There shall be so many new developments.

Proper now we noticed Axie Infinity. All people’s considering in that mentality. In South Korea there was a sport known as Mir4, made by Wemade. That sport was fully the other. They switched a free-to-play sport and simply added a small quantity of play-to-earn features. Now unexpectedly persons are realizing you are able to do this. There’s going to be a number of swings, even inside our manufacturing groups, round how they’re going to design these new sorts of economies. That’s how I see it.

GamesBeat: Have you ever seen any resistance from players? I do know Ubisoft has run into a few of that immediately. It looks as if the extra hardcore players, they affiliate this with issues like loot containers and scams and aggressive monetization.

Lee: We haven’t seen that a lot from our customers but. I’ve seen it round different video games. Even Cookie Run, at one in every of our sister sport corporations, they introduced they have been going to do Cookie Run NFTs and so they confronted an enormous backlash. We’ll must see. The identical factor occurred as everybody was transferring over to free-to-play and utilizing issues like loot containers. It’s going to require a number of schooling. We’re filling in a spot, I believe, and we’re going to supply rather more worth to our customers on the similar time.

Even crypto itself nonetheless has a number of unfavourable associations round it, whether or not it’s environmental impression or cash laundering and all of that. But it surely’s such a strong software. We simply must attempt to use it the fitting manner.

Above: Kritika: the White Knights is coming in Q1 2022.

Picture Credit score: Com2Us

GamesBeat: How quickly are a few of these issues going to reach? Are you taking a look at 2022?

Lee: I don’t know what’s going to come back first. Our schedules at all times change. Many of the video games are going to come back across the center of subsequent 12 months, although.

GamesBeat: The rest you’d like to say immediately?

Lee: A variety of the time we really feel like we’re transferring in quick ahead. We wish to be in a number one place. Which will imply we take the bullets. However we wish to pave the best way. We’re very enthusiastic about this new alternative. It’s going to be enjoyable.