Konami Bucks Negative NFT Gaming Industry Sentiment With Marketplace Reveal

Japanese gaming company Konami is looking for talent for web3 and metaverse development. The company also plans to launch an NFT marketplace at a time when most other gaming companies have ditched them.

Japanese entertainment conglomerate and video game company Konami revealed on Oct. 13 that it was recruiting personnel for Web3 and metaverse development. Of particular interest is the fact that the company plans to launch an NFT marketplace for trading in-game digital items.

Konami is looking for employees that would work in the roles of system construction and service development to provide new experiences such as Web3 and the metaverse. The company believes that new technology, such as an NFT marketplace, will help expand its business as the entertainment industry grows. The announcement reads,

“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.”

Konami has several intellectual properties that could bolster any metaverse ambitions. The company has such IPs as Castlevania and Metal Gear, which are particularly popular with the gaming community.

Konami NFT interests growing

This isn’t the first occasion on which Konami has dabbled with NFTs. The company has expressed interest in the unique assets for some time now, just as other gaming companies have.

In January 2022, the company commemorated the 35th anniversary of its Castlevania series by releasing a collection of NFTs alongside it. Evidently, the reaction following that release has not done anything to deter Konami from tapping into the technology further. There were 14 pieces of artwork in total with an NFT selling for an average of approximately $12,000.

However, the gaming community itself wasn’t particularly happy about the decision. Several users took to Twitter to denounce the move and also said the company should turn its attention to other priorities.

Gaming studios less psyched on NFTs

The NFT market has swept through the gaming industry in the past 18 months. For example, another Japanese giant, Square Enix, has taken several steps to enter the blockchain space. The company sold several of its most important IPs, including Tomb Raider, to invest in blockchain technology. It also partnered with double jump.tokyo to collaborate on NFT content development.

The gaming community quickly criticized Square Enix’s NFT blockchain pivot. Gamers were worried about the potential monetization strategies and the environmental impact of NFTs.

However, the intense pushback from the gaming community has tempered the ambitions of gaming companies. Ubisoft is not releasing any more NFT content and support for its Ghost Recon Breakpoint game, for example. At the same time, even popular crypto games like Axie Infinity are seeing NFT sales drops.