Wemade acquires game developer SundayToz

Game publisher Wemade has acquired a 100 percent stake in mobile game developer SundayToz for 100 billion won ($84 million), the company said Monday.

SundayToz is a casual game developer that released the hit mobile game Anipang series. It also services social casino games Slot Mate and Electric Slot.

Social casino games are online games based on popular casino games, such as slot machines, bingo and poker. Cyber cash is used that cannot be exchanged for real-life cash, and players only play the house, not each other.

SundayToz’s subsidiary Play Links announced last week that it will start making games using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in gameplay.

Through the deal, Wemade will expand its portfolio to casual games and social casino games using NFTs through its blockchain platform Wemix.

Wemade is a pioneer in NFT gaming, having released play-to-earn game Mir4 using NFTs earlier this year. An NFT game allows players to earn game items while playing and make real money from them.

Though the game is not available in Korea as generating profit through gameplay is illegal here, it received a lot of interest from the global market and the company's shares quickly grew in popularity due to the potential of the NFT technology.

“Wemade plans to service 100 games through its Wemix platform by the end of 2022, and will continue working with developers of diverse genres to do so,” Wemade said.

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