Microsoft has invested in Wemade, a Korean gaming company with a focus on blockchain technology.
Wemade said in a press release that it has raised $46 million from Microsoft, Shinhan Asset Management and Kiwoom Securities. In a regulatory filing, Wemade disclosed that it is raising the capital through sales of convertible bonds.
Wemade CEO Henry Chang said: “This is a meaningful investment by reputable financial and strategic investors with proven track records. Wemade and Wemix will continue to exert efforts to attract more capital and actively invest to build the global digital economy platform.”
Founded over two decades ago, Wemade is best known for its sleeper hit title The Legend of Mir, which at one point had more than 200 million signups.
According to the company, its recent title Mir 4 “has become the world’s first well-made blockbuster blockchain game since the company entered the blockchain industry in 2018”, though it’s not clear what metrics it uses to determine this.
In the last few years, Wemade has been exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology into its new titles and offerings. It recently launched its blockchain Wemix3.0 to mainnet and launched a stablecoin and a DeFi platform.
The company says it is aiming to “transform everyday games with blockchain technology and establish its Wemix coin as a key currency in the blockchain gaming space.”
It also has its own NFT auction site, and plans to introduce its own ‘economy platform’ which supports NFTs and DAO (decentralized autonomous organization, a collectively-owned organisation with no central authority).
“A new economy platform NILE that supports NFT and DAO will be introduced soon as well. (EOD),” Wemade said in the press release.
