Gumi, a Tokyo-Japan gaming based company, recently declared a business deal of $52 million with Square Enix, along with financial services company SBI holdings Co. Ltd with an aim to build new opportunities around metaverse as a secondary revenue stream.
Big players in ‘Metaverse’
As all companies in the gaming space are tapping into the metaverse world. Gumi has also betted on its immense potential, while issuing new shares worth $52 million, giving a stake of over 22% to SBI Holdings and over 3% to Square Enix.
Gumi is a game development firm which engages in planning and operations of social games. It was founded in June 2007 by Hironao Kunimitsu. Its operations are carried out in segments, such as Mobile online games, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). It has created many mobile games, including Brave Exvius, inspired by superb Final Fantasy game series of Square Enix.
According to its official website, Gumi described itself as a pioneer in expanding to new markets in relation to metaverse. They state “we are expanding in new content for “unique” technologies such as blockchain and XR, and by investing in leading global companies with growth.”
Gumi also noted that their objective behind investment in business corporations and leading organizations, were meant for “early identification of market growth for the next 3-5 years, investing in leading global companies in the market and building new revenue streams through collaboration and capital alliances with portfolio companies.”
All major Japanese gaming companies, such as Konami, Sega, and more have presented their profit-making blueprints from Web3 space. In September 2022, Double jump tokyo, Oasys and Sega collaborated to create a blockchain game based on the theme of “Sangokushi” (Three Kingdoms).
Race to get pace
In a press release, Gumi remarked of the extent the deal will provide, that “The group is working day and night to make the metaverse business a second earnings pillar in addition to the mobile online game business, which is the current mainstay of earnings.”
According to media reports, as of October 2022, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed the country’s strategy for investing in digital transformation technologies, including metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFT). In Japan’s Parliament, Kishida said that the nation will direct their focus to “promote efforts to expand the use of Web3 services that utilize the metaverse and NFTs.”
Square Enix has embraced NFT and blockchain based games in the gaming industry. As sources reported, it sold off best-loved Deux Ex, Legacy of Kain Tomb Raider and more. Not only this, Ubisoft also invested an incredible amount in the same space, also they released NFT items of its major video game franchises.
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Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/12/29/japan-game-maker-gumi-taps-metaverse-with-square-enix-and-sbi-holdings/