Japanese gaming giant’s hiring spree ahead of NFT marketplace

Japanese gaming giant Konami is seeking to expand its crypto-versed talent pool while it eyes the development of Web3 and metaverse “experiences” and a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace.

The gaming giant is the latest in a lengthening list of big names signaling interest in expanding its Web3 offerings by seeking to acquire new talent.

On Oct. 13, the company announced that it was recruiting a “wide range of talent” for “system construction and service development,” relating to future metaverse and Web3 platforms.

Konami stated that it has been conducting research and development to incorporate the “latest technology” into its games and content, adding it also has plans to launch an NFT trading platform where players can trade their in-game digital items. 

The company is well known among traditional gamer circles as the publisher behind the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution and Frogger. 

Konami is looking to fill several positions including system engineers, programmers, project managers, designers and directors for its venture into Web3.

The successful applicants will work on a “unique digital item distribution platform” that conforms to Japanese guidelines for blockchain games.

This is not Konami’s first foray into nonfungibles. In January the firm launched a collection of NFTs to celebrate the anniversary of its Castlevania franchise.

Related: Disney seeks corporate lawyer for ‘emerging technologies’ and NFTs

However, major moves into NFTs by some traditional gaming companies have been met with backlash, the most notable example being Ubisoft’s Quartz platform which came under fire earlier this year.

Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot walked back the company’s enthusiasm for NFTs, saying it was merely in “research mode” all along.

Some gamers saw gaming companies’ moves into the NFT space as a money grab. There were also environmental concerns over the proof-of-work mining process used to mint them, though much of these worries can be dismissed since Ethereum, the industry standard network for NFTs, has transitioned to proof-of-stake.

NFT sales have slumped in 2022 in line with the wider crypto bear market. In recent months, NFT sales on the world’s largest marketplace, OpenSea, have plummeted as much as 99% from their record highs of more than $400 million earlier this year.