Japanese Gaming Giant Konami to Launch Web3 and Metaverse Initiative

Japanese video game giant Konami has announced plans to launch a marketplace for trading in-game NFTs, as well as a “wide range” of other Web3-related products and services. 

The entertainment conglomerate also unveiled that it is looking to add new talent and will recruit a “wide range of talent for system construction and service development to provide new experiences such as Web3 and Metaverse,” Konami said in a Thursday blog post. 

The gaming giant claimed that they have been researching how to integrate the latest innovations into games, adding that one of its main products will be a marketplace for trading in-game NFTs. 

“We have been conducting research and development to incorporate the latest technology into games and contents, and plan to launch a service where players can trade their in-game NFTs (digital items) through a unique distribution platform using blockchain,” it stated.

Konami mentioned that NFTs can be used for several purposes. While the innovation is primarily used to represent unique in-game items in entertainment, it can also represent fan tokens and tickets to events, allowing owners to interact with other services and communities. 

Notably, this is not Konami’s first foray into the world of blockchain. Earlier this year, Konami celebrated the 35th anniversary of Castlevania by selling a collection of NFTs related to the franchise. 

The majority of the collection was made up of GIFs of gameplay snippets from the first three Castlevania games on various home computers. The rest of the collection was renderings of in-game maps and art versions originally used in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. 

NFT Popularity At Record Lows

It is worth noting that Konami’s bold bet on NFTs comes as the market for these digital tokens is experiencing its worst days ever. As reported, NFT trading volume has taken a major dive, plunging by nearly 100% from its all-time high in January this year.

NFT trading volume dropped from $17 billion at the very beginning of the year to just $466 million in September, representing a drop of 97%. The plunge is in line with the broader market downturn and the global market rout, caused by the war in Europe, rising inflation, and poor central bank policies. 

“The fading NFT mania is part of a wider, $2 trillion wipeout in the crypto sector as rapidly tightening monetary policy starves speculative assets of investment flows,” Bloomberg reported in late September.