Blockchain Gaming Company Wemade Receives Funding from Microsoft

Microsoft has funded a blockchain-technology-focused Korean game developer. Wemade has revealed that it has received approximately $46 million from a wide range of businesses, including the holding company of Xbox.

Wemade announced that it had “extraordinarily managed to acquire fresh money from […] an overseas strategic investor at favorable terms,” yet it was unclear what percentage of this $46 million was contributed by Microsoft.

Henry Chang, CEO of Wemade, remarked, “This is a significant investment by recognized financial and strategic stakeholders with a tradition of excellence. Wemade and Wemix will aim to receive investment and aggressively engage in the development of a framework for the worldwide digital economy.

Wemade, which was established 22yrs before, and creates PC and mobile video games. Legend of Mir, a series of PC and mobile MMORPGs, is the brand’s most well-known genre. As per the firm, its newest title Mir 4 “has emerged as the world’s initial well-made super hit blockchain title since the firm joined the blockchain market in 2018,” but it is unclear what criteria it used to make this claim.

Wemade has just introduced Wemix 3.0, which it defines as a “platform-led and service-centered mega network.” A mainnet is completely designed and operational blockchain network that can transmit, verify, and store bitcoin transactions.

Additionally, it runs its own NFT auction website and wants to launch its own “economy platform” that handles NFTs and DAOs (decentralized autonomous organization, a collectively-run institution with no centralized governing authority). It is unclear how Microsoft’s stake in Wemade matches with its own plan, although it seems doubtful that the investment will immediately lead to the inclusion of blockchain or NFT innovation within its own titles.

Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division, has warned explicitly that NFT games “look more predatory than entertaining”, stressing in August that he felt “concerned” about play-to-earn cryptocurrency games since they “make a labour pool out of users.”

Spencer in recent times referenced Mojang’s declaration that it will not permit NFTs in Minecraft. The Xbox studio stated that the present usage of NFTs is “predatory,” but that the core technology might ultimately benefit a more beneficial function.

Spencer told Bloomberg in August, “We issued certain remarks in Minecraft regarding the manner in which we perceive NFTs in this sector because we observed individuals doing unethical things in our game, and we stated that we do not desire that.”

“When these innovations emerge, I believe they are occasionally like a sledgehammer searching for a nail. But I believe that the real human application – or player usage, in our case – of these innovations might lead to intriguing results.”