NEAR Protocol aims straight at the Korean game market with BORA, Kakao Games' Web3 arm

• NEAR Foundation and METABORA, the Web3 gaming initiative affiliate of Kakao Games, sign a strategic MOU
• Promote joint development of Web3 games based on global IP and cooperation in activities to strengthen brand awareness
• Full-scale expansion of game and content ecosystem of NEAR Protocol centered on NEAR Korea Hub

SINGAPORE, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NEAR Foundation and METABORA SINGAPORE("METABORA SG"), the Web3 gaming initiative affiliate of Kakao Games signed a strategic MOU.

Under the terms of the agreement, NEAR and METABORA SG will mutually cooperate to discover a global IP-based web3 joint business, improve the overall liquidity of the blockchain ecosystem with cross-chain, increase brand awareness, promote global marketing with events and build an active support system for raising brand awareness and strengthen the core networks.   

METABORA is an affiliate of Kakao Games and the parent company of METABORA SG focused on game development and blockchain-based gaming ecosystems. Its portfolio includes mobile games based on Kakao Friends' global intellectual properties.

Commenting on the partnership, Vincent Lim, a CBO of METABORA SG said: "We look forward to expanding the BORA ecosystem in the web3 market through a partnership with NEAR Protocol, which is currently active in both Korean and global markets. Also, we will strengthen our competitiveness by focusing on creating synergy based on technical collaboration."

In signing this partnership, NEAR Korea Hub, which oversees the entire business development area in Korea and Asia, played a key role. Since it was established last November, it has been gradually expanding its horizons in the Korean game industry by expanding the NEAR ecosystem, focusing on the game and content industry.

"One of the big ambitions of the hub is to tap into the country's active gaming community and to bring amazing projects and creators to the NEAR ecosystem." said Robbie Lim, GM, Partners and International at NEAR. "The partnership with METABORA SG is our first major win - and a big step forward for NEAR as it accelerates its ambition to become the go-to layer 1 for the Web3 gaming community."

An official from NEAR Korea Hub said: "Given the size of the Korean game market, it is natural for NEAR to put their full effort into it, and we will continue cooperation with gaming companies using the agreement with Metabora Singapore as a starting point. Furthermore, we will fully support the game industry to expand its business areas in Web3 cross-chain game onboarding and NFT models based on excellent IP."

Press Contacts
Luis Shin / Manager
NEAR Korea hub
[email protected]

NEAR Foundation
The NEAR Foundation is a Swiss non-profit that oversees the governance and development of the NEAR protocol, a high-performance blockchain that is designed to be super-fast, incredibly secure, and infinitely scalable.

The NEAR team comprises world-class engineers and business development experts who have built a blockchain mainnet that is highly usable, scalable, and environment-friendly. NEAR Protocol has been recognized for its technical capabilities and has attracted investment from leading investors such as a16z, Coinbase Ventures, Multi Coin Capital, and Hashed. It also manages an ecosystem fund of $800 million to enhance the NEAR ecosystem.

NEAR Korea Hub
NEAR Korea Hub is a multi-function regional hub that manages the overall business in Korea and East Asia. Specifically, NEAR Korea Hub supports project onboarding, fostering developer community, marketing, and more.

Kakao Games

Kakao Games is a multi-platform game publisher and developer headquartered in South Korea. It is a subsidiary of Kakao Corp, well-known for  KakaoTalk, the number one social messaging platform in South Korea.

Kakao Games is dedicated to creating the best online gaming experience for players. As a game publisher, it is known for Black Desert Online, a successful MMORPG in the global market, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a FPS hit, in the South Korean market. It continues to work on bringing new high end games to both PC and mobile platforms.

METABORA SINGAPORE

As a subsidiary of METABORA(a subsidiary of Kakaogames, one of the biggest game publishers in Korea), a casual and blockchain game developer, and a developer of blockchain platform BORA, METABORA SG is servicing user-friendly blockchain-based games and entertainment contents based on a myriad of experiences in development and service.

BORA Platform is associated with various partners across the industries capable of bringing a shift and advance in tokenomics, content and blockchain technology, and covers a range of contents from game to entertainment to guild DAO through an aggressive eco fund investment and partnership. Also, it is developing services optimized to GameFi such as NFT trading, token exchange and DeFi by running BORA Portal.

SOURCE NEAR Foundation