NCSoft to disclose probabilities for all paid game items from 3Q

NCSoft will disclose the probabilities of all random paid items and contents for in-game purchases, such as the loot box.

NC announced on May 27 that the “Amendment to the Code of Self-Regulation for Creating a Healthy Game Culture” announced by K-Games will start taking effect from the third quarter and will be applied to all games.

NC will complete the application before December this year when the Amendment to the Code of Self-Regulation becomes effective.

On May 27, K-Games announced the revised bill of the Code of Self-Regulation on expanding the scope of disclosing probabilities. The revised bill of the Code of Self-Regulation is on Expanding and strengthening the scope of targets and Diversifying the method of displaying the information on probabilities. The revised bill of the Code of Self-Regulation will take effect from December 1.

HME Healthcare selected as the company to receive investment option guarantee from KODIT

HME, a microbiome company, announced on May 27 that it has recently been selected as the company to receive an investment option guarantee worth 600 million won through KODIT, or Korea Credit Guarantee Fund's innovative startup support program.

The investment option guarantee is a hybrid investment-financing product for smooth funding and financial structure improvement for new startup companies with promising growth potential.

HME Healthcare is made up of two founders with Ph.Ds. from the University of Hong Kong and three researchers. Based on the analysis of microbiome big data, the company is focusing on predicting antibiotic-resistant bacteria infection by using artificial intelligence and discovering and developing natural products derived from non-cultured microorganisms.

Park Tae-jin, CEO of HME Healthcare, said, "Based on our core technology, we are putting more energy into the development of innovative solutions for diagnosing and treating infections. We are smoothly expanding the next-gen microbiome sequencing analysis service.”

Kakao builds OTT platform and acquires a streaming company for 25 billion

Kakao Entertainment, a subsidiary of Kakao, acquired video streaming technology company INISOFT for 25 billion won. This is seen as the sign that Kakao is jumping full force into the OTT business.

According to sources in the investment banking industry on May 27, Kakao Entertainment acquired 100% of INISOFT’s stake for 25 billion won. Starting with the development of the media player Dice Player for Android in 2009, it has been operating a video streaming server. It has been a video streaming platform developer established in 2001. It has a variety of business capabilities in the video streaming field with the experience in jointly developing video platforms with foreign telecommunications companies and OTT providers.

According to the IT industry, Kakao Entertainment is preparing to make its own video platform by next year. Up to now, Kakao Entertainment has run its content business only by uploading video content to the KakaoTalk-linked Kakao TV or selling its video contents to the already established OTT platforms like Netflix and WAVVE.

The industry predicts that Kakao Entertainment will expand its power in the OTT market with the ability to produce original contents. Kakao Entertainment has strengthened its video production capabilities by continuously acquiring film and drama production companies like Kross Pictures, Moonlight Film, Sanai Pictures, and Story & Pictures Media.

Nexon invests $100 million in coins and loses 33%... but will continue to invest

According to CoinMarketCap on May 26, the Bitcoin which Nexon's Japanese subsidiary bought on April 28 for an average unit price of 58,226 dollars (about 65.8 million won at the time) has settled around 39,000 dollars (about 43.52 million won) that day.

At the time, Nexon bought 1,717 coins for about 100 million dollars. This became a hot topic because it was the first time for a Korean game company to invest such a large amount (around 100 billion won) directly in Bitcoin. At the time, the cryptocurrency prices were going up every day, so Nexon’s investment was viewed as positive... at the time.

However, as negative news related to Bitcoin like China's mining regulations and environmental issues rolled in, Nexon's losses have been increases daily. The current loss from Nexon's bitcoin investment is about 33%.

However, Nexon doesn’t seem to be shaken by the situation. This shows that Nexon has is not going for short-term market gains and believes that Bitcoin will bring a profit in the long run. As the ratio of Bitcoin is less than 2% of Nexon's cashable assets, the impact of the decline is not considered significant.

Pangyo Technovalley is an innovation hub for global companies comparable to the Silicon Valley in the US, Zhongguancun in China, and STATION F in France. It is an Asia tech hub with 1,259 IT, BT, CT, and NT companies that possess innovative products and technologies. Located just south of the metropolitan area, it provides the best environment for Korean companies to do business with great transportation access and infrastructure.

Various high-tech companies are located in Pangyo Technovalley, and it is occupied by 64,000 full-time employees, many in their 20-30s. In terms of industry, the companies are engaged in information technology, contents technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

With the support of innovative companies with global capabilities such as Kakao, Naver, AhnLab, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, and Hancom, companies in Pangyo Technovalley recorded 107 trillion won in sales last year. Investment and infrastructure growth in Pangyo is expected to continue, with the Metaverse hub entering Pangyo this year.

Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom

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