-
Japanese gaming giant Konami is looking to expand its pool of crypto-savvy talent, with a focus on developing Web3 and Metaverse “experiences” and the non-fungible token (NFT) market. The gaming giant is the latest in a list of big names showing interest in expanding Web3’s offerings by trying to attract new talent.
On October 13th, the company announced that it is looking for a “wide range of talent” for “systems engineering and service development” related to its future Metaverse and Web3 platforms.
Konami said it is conducting research and development to incorporate “the latest technology” into its games and content, adding that it also plans to launch an NFT trading platform that allows players to store and trade digital items in the game. The company is known in traditional gaming circles as the publisher of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, and Frogger.
Konami is looking for multiple positions such as system engineer, programmer, project manager, designer and director for the development of Web3. Successful applicants will work on a “unique digital item distribution platform” that complies with Japanese blockchain game guidelines.
Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot hit back at the company’s enthusiasm for NFTs, saying it had been in “research mode” all along.
This isn’t the first time Konami has ventured into non-alternative products. In January, the company launched his collection of NFTs to celebrate the anniversary of the Castlevania franchise. However, large-scale moves toward NFTs by some traditional game companies have been met with backlash, the most notable example being Ubisoft’s Quartz platform, which was denounced earlier this year.
Some players saw his foray into the NFT space for gaming companies as money making. Since Ethereum, the industry-standard network for NFTs, has switched to proof-of-stake, many of these concerns can be ignored, but there are also environmental concerns about the proof-of-work mining process used to mine them.
NFT sales plummeted in 2022 in line with the broader crypto bear market. In recent months, NFT sales in the world’s largest market, OpenSea, have plunged 99% from a record high of over $400 million earlier this year.