With an aim to roll out blockchain- and NFT-based games and services, blockchain company Solana Labs has entered into an agreement with Krafton, the South Korea-based studio behind the popular PUBG video game. As part of the pact, the two companies will collaborate on the development, operation, design, and marketing of the games and services based on non-fungible token (NFT) and blockchain technologies.

However, Krafton has not yet announced whether it would use blockchain technology in its flagship PUBG series or not. Speaking on the collaboration, Krafton’s Web 3.0 roundtable lead, Hyungchul Park, said, "Krafton will continuously see ways to work closely with blockchain companies like Solana Labs as we work toward establishing our Web 3.0 (decentralised web) ecosystem. Through this cooperation, Krafton will acquire the insight needed to accelerate its investment in and output of blockchain-based experiences."

The development comes a little over a month after Krafton expressed its wish to enter the blockchain gaming space. The studio has also announced that it would collaborate with Naver Z, a South Korea-based app developer, to build “a new Web 3.0 and NFT project aimed at building an NFT metaverse platform”.

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These collaborations by Krafton come in the backdrop of the sharp drop in the company's share price. The studio has been facing stiff competition from its Chinese rivals, who have become more active in South Korea following a crackdown by authorities in Beijing. To counter the threat from their Chinese counterparts and shore up revenues, South Korean gaming companies are increasingly integrating blockchain technology into their offerings.

Meanwhile, Krafton Studio-developed PUBG Mobile has been downloaded more than 1 billion times so far. Last year, a second free-to-play mobile PUBG game -- PUBG: New State -- was also released.

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(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)