Krafton invests in Seoul Auction digital businesses

Game publisher Krafton has invested 8 billion won ($6.7 million) in two digital art subsidiaries of Seoul Auction to jointly develop avatars that can be owned and sold in the online world, the game company said Monday.

Of the 8 billion won, 3 billion won will go to Seoul Auction Blue and 5 billion won to XXBLUE, Seoul Auction Blue’s subsidiary operating the non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform XXBLUE.

Krafton will get a 5 percent stake in Seoul Auction Blue and 11 percent of XXBLUE.

The three companies signed an agreement on Jan. 27 to develop avatars that can be sold as NFTs on metaverse platforms.

The project will be led by Krafton’s subsidiary Bluehole Studio, which will utilize the expertise it has acquired in developing three-dimensional characters for its online roleplaying games. Krafton is the developer and publisher of the Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) shooting game franchise.

The Seoul Auction affiliates will be in charge of marketing and promoting the avatars when they are completed.

Seoul Auction Blue runs an online art trading platform dubbed SOTWO, where buyers can make collective purchases of an artwork. XXBLUE runs an online NFT trading service of the same name.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]