Quick take:
- Hana Financial has joined the metaverse race with a partnership with Korean gaming giant Netmarble.
- The two companies will develop new financial experiences and business ventures in the metaverse.
- Netmarble will also introduce financial services to its upcoming game “Grand Cross: Metaworld” developed by its subsidiary, Metaverse World.
Korean banking giant Hana Financial has partnered with one of the country’s biggest gaming companies Netmarble to launch financial experiences and business ventures in the metaverse.
Netmarble is set to test this partnership in its upcoming metaverse game Grand Cross: Metaworld, developed by its subsidiary, Metaverse World. The Korean gaming giant will leverage Hana Financial’s banking network and systems to bring financial experiences to Grand Cross: Metaworld.
Grand Cross: Metaworld is an open-world gaming experience combining virtual and real-world elements. The game is built on the latest version of Epic Games’ photo-realistic 3D gaming engine, Unreal Engine.
According to the announcement, the two companies will collaborate to launch joint services that blend gaming and finance, targeting the MZ generation (MZers) — a phrase used to describe people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s.
Netmarble said its subsidiary plans to run a closed beta of Grand Cross: Metaworld later in 2023.
This announcement comes ahead of the Korean Blockchain Week (KBW2023) main event, which kicks off on September 5th through 6th. The event was founded by FACTBLOCK, a blockchain community created to promote integrity in the blockchain and is being cohosted by Hashed, one of the leading Web3 venture capital firms in Korea.
The metaverse has struggled to build on its success from late 2021 to early 2022. This has partly been due to the quality of games and products being launched according to industry critics.
Netmarble has been one of the few traditional gaming companies that have remained committed despite the market downturn. Its collaboration with one of Korea’s biggest financial services companies indicates that the metaverse may still have a place in the mainstream.
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