Krafton, a South Korean gaming company and creator of PUBG, has unveiled its latest project: an open metaverse game called ‘Overdare.’ According to a report, the game will feature create-to-earn mechanics where users will be able to easily build games of their choosing (Sandbox style) and monetize them. A video trailer accompanied the announcement:
To facilitate the creation of games, Overdare will come with a suite of artificial intelligence tools, which will allow users to build what they want seamlessly. Some examples of games mentioned in the announcement were first-person shooters, RPGs, and battle royales. The graphics engine powering the metaverse will be Unreal Engine 5.
Notably, Krafton has created its own blockchain, called Settlus, for Overdare. The need for a new type of blockchain arose from a roundtable discussion at the gaming company, which focused on the need to produce a Sandbox-style metaverse with Web3 principles like transparency and decentralization, but also one that was fun as well. To support the in-game economy, players will be able to make transactions in the stablecoin USDC.
Overdare will have a soft launch in December of this year, followed by a full launch sometime between January and July of 2024. Krafton is setting it up to compete directly with Roblox, which is one of the top metaverse games in existence. Like Roblox, Overdare will have a social component, with messaging features and live concerts.
It has long been speculated that Krafton would enter the open metaverse gaming market, with initial reports about Project Migaloo surfacing months ago. Its PUBG has over 280 million players and is one of the most played games in the world.
Overdare: The ‘South Korean’ Roblox
While Roblox with its 214 monthly active users is currently the top dog in the metaverse gaming space, there may be room for other virtual worlds — especially those that appeal to an entirely different audience. Some believe that is what Krafton is banking on: Having ‘Overdare’ become the Roblox of South Korea.
According to one report, South Korea is set to have the 5th largest metaverse market by 2026, a large achievement for a country of its size. That may be due to the country’s reputation as a giant in science and technology. It is often at the forefront of innovation, and it is home to Samsung, a technology giant, among other tech companies.
In fact, South Korea’s governments, both federal and municipal, have expressed interest in the metaverse. As Rarity Sniper covered, South Korea’s Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning has pledged $186.7 million to create a metaverse ecosystem within the country and incentivize the creation of digital content. Also, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has created a digital replica of the city. In that virtual world, people can complete government-associated tasks without having to go in-person to an office.
Then there’s the gaming level: Solana, once called the Ethereum-killer, invested $100 million in the country’s Web3 economy, focused mostly around blockchain games. The investment showed the confidence some organizations have in South Korea and its ability to be a Web3 leader on the country level.
Will Overdare succeed? Only time will tell. Metaverses are being hit hard in the bear market. But given Krafton’s pedigree, we believe they can. Rarity Sniper has reached out to the company for comment and will update this article if it responds.