Japanese mobile gaming company Gumi has partnered with Japanese game developer Square Enix and Japan’s financial service company, SBI Holdings, to create mobile games, blockchain games, and a metaverse initiative.
The partnership includes issuing new shares worth $52.7 million, which will make SBI Holdings the top shareholder with a 22.46% stake in Gumi. Square Enix will get a minor stake of 3.01%.
Gumi aims to create a game-focused NFT marketplace and a platform for trading gaming tokens.
SBI Holdings bought a majority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange Bitpoint. The acquisition, valued at around $100 million, will enable SBI to list tokens issued in games developed by Gumi.
However, the company first and foremost wants to develop a new metaverse business.
“The group is working day and night to make the metaverse business a second pillar of revenue apart from the mobile online game business, which is the current mainstay of revenue,” Gumi said in a press release.
Square Enix is actively involved in NFTs and the metaverse. The company announced Symbiogenesis, a new playable NFT experience, in November. It also created Final Fantasy NFTs with Enjin. Gumi will benefit from Square Enix’s vast experience in developing, distributing, and publishing blockchain games and NFTs.
Japan is also bullish on Web3: even the government has announced its investment in NFTs and the metaverse as a part of Japan’s digital transformation plans. One of the biggest blockchain gaming companies, Animoca Brands, has been expanding into Japan.
The post Square Enix partners with Japanese gaming company Gumi to expand in gaming, metaverse, and NFTs appeared first on Metaverse Post.
