The prominent South Korean developer and publisher, NCSoft, is paying more attention to Web3 games. Today, the firm revealed that it contributed to the recent $300 million Series B funding round for Mysten Labs, creator of the fledgling Sui blockchain, and said the companies will collaborate on future projects.

NCSoft, the company behind hit online game franchises like Lineage, Guild Wars, and Blade & Soul, invested $15 million in the round, which was originally announced in September without disclosing its participation. The round, led by FTX Ventures, valued Mysten Labs at more than $2 billion.

In addition to supporting Mysten financially, NCSoft also plans to work with the company on potential Web3-powered games. In a statement, the companies said they would “explore future collaborations to create digital entertainment experiences that are more engaging and player-centric, leveraging Sui.”

Last November, NCSoft announced that it was exploring launching NFT-based games in 2022, as well as creating its own crypto token. The firm also said it was testing how to create massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) using Web3’s play-to-win business model.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to create novel and innovative player experiences,” said Dr. Songyee Yoon, NCSoft’s president and chief strategy officer, in a statement.

“We are excited to partner with Mysten,” he continued, “who shares our vision of technology as a platform for a truly distributed player-centric economy, passion for community building, and trusted technology that is crucial for those wanting to build a platform of the desired scale and scope.

Other traditional gaming companies that have started building and investing in Web3 include Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive, together the companies behind giant franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Final Fantasy, and Grand Theft Auto.

Sui is a new layer 1 blockchain platform. Layer 1 blockchains are entry-level networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana that allow developers to implement decentralized applications (dapps) and projects on top of the protocol.

As with the recently launched Aptos, the founders of Sui grew out of Meta’s scrapped Diem cryptocurrency project to create a new Layer 1 blockchain using the Move programming language. Mysten Labs co-founder Sam Blackshear first developed Move for Diem while working as a former Facebook engineer; he now serves as director of technology at Mysten.

“Bringing gaming to Web3 requires an infrastructure that can support millions of gamers while allowing these gamers to own and interact with fully integrated, dynamic and composable digital assets,” Blackshear said in a statement.

As the Diem project drew to a close in 2021, members of the social media giant’s Novi Research team launched Mysten Labs. Sui is Mysten’s first project: a proof-of-stake blockchain platform designed for dapps and other cases. of use. The project has not yet launched its public mainnet and is still in testing.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated after publication to clarify the Sui founders’ connection to Diem.