Tencent explores purchase of Nexon gaming company

Tencent, a Chinese exertion and holding institution with a planetary footprint, is reportedly exploring the anticipation of acquiring crippled developer and steadfast Nexon.

Representatives from the tech institution contacted the household of Nexon laminitis Kim Jung-ju to research a imaginable deal, but nary factual presumption person been reached and a woody is not guaranteed, according to Bloomberg.

Nexon is the South Korean video crippled developer down the MapleStory series, a massively multiplayer online role-playing crippled (MMORPG) that archetypal gained popularity successful the aboriginal 2000s arsenic a accepted PC game.

Web3 gaming continues to beryllium a intimately watched usage lawsuit for blockchain exertion arsenic the quality to springiness players ownership implicit in-game assets could make an wholly caller plus people and make tens of billions of dollars successful capital.

MapleStory gameplay. Source: MapleStory

The institution integrated blockchain technology successful 2 antithetic installments of the series, MapleStory N and MapleStory Universe, successful May 2025, allowing users to cod in-game items and rewards successful the signifier of non-fungible tokens (NFTS).

Related: MapleStory revives Avalanche, tops 1M regular transactions doubly successful a week

Interest successful Web3 gaming surges, but inactive acold from mainstream

According to a February 2025 report from DappRadar, blockchain gaming enactment surged by astir 368% year-over-year successful January 2025, driven by games similar Off The Grid and the then-upcoming MapleStory N.

Off The Grid is simply a AAA shooter, published by Gunzilla Games, that features console-level graphics and gameplay akin to that of accepted video crippled blockbusters produced by large crippled studios.

This represented a important departure from accepted Web3 games that typically diagnostic elemental gameplay mechanics, cartoonish graphics, and a absorption connected subordinate rewards alternatively than robust gameplay.

Despite the archetypal spike successful subordinate involvement that started successful precocious 2024, Web3 gaming enactment declined by 10%, reflected by a driblet successful regular unsocial progressive wallets, according to DappRadar.

While the crypto gaming assemblage remains steadfast and titles specified arsenic MapleStory and Off The Grid bespeak a displacement to higher prime games focused connected subordinate experience, Web3 gaming inactive faces respective headwinds.

Chief among these impediments to wide Web3 gaming adoption are the method obstruction to introduction of mounting up a blockchain wallet and the accepted gaming community's aversion to play-to-earn games and different tactics designed to fuse gaming and money.

Magazine: Can Off the Grid past Steam’s crypto ban? Rage implicit Maplestory cheaters: Web3 Gamer