Pressure from Chinese rivals has wiped $20bn off the market value of South Korea’s top game companies, with the developer of global hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds leading the slump.
The poor performance of new releases has prompted Korean game makers to shift their focus to “play-to-earn” games with digital coins and non-fungible tokens to generate revenue.
The new business model is crucial to fending off Chinese rivals pouring into South Korea after Beijing launched a crackdown on tech in China, the world’s biggest online game market. The top three grossing games worldwide last year were Chinese games, according to app tracker Sensor Tower.