Marblex, the blockchain subsidiary of major South Korean mobile game publisher Netmarble, announced Wednesday that it will utilize the Saga gaming protocol to support its upcoming crypto games.
Billed as a “comprehensive collaboration,” Marblex and Saga will work in tandem to launch and promote crypto games. Marblex will utilize Saga’s layer-1 blockchain network to support its own chain, while Saga will help with user acquisition; both brands will use their respective channels to promote such games.
"Saga has a brand and ethos that is truly dedicated to enabling the next generation of gaming," said Marblex CEO Hong Jin-Pyo, in a release. "Putting a priority on bridging the very wide gap between traditional and Web3 gaming provided Saga with a succinct understanding of what developers need to get us there."
Saga is built around the concept of chainlets, which can be combined to power games and apps much like a traditional game might use multiple cloud computing instances. Saga co-founder and CEO Rebecca Liao previously described it to Decrypt’s GG as a “chain to launch chains.”
It’s also designed to enable cross-chain building, so studios that have deployed games on other blockchains can also tap into Saga’s network to support their operations. That’s how Marblex plans to use Saga, plus Saga has existing collaboration agreements with the teams behind Polygon, Avalanche, and Celestia.
Saga is currently running a “play-to-airdrop” campaign across numerous games building on its network, as well as games on other chains like Avalanche and Polygon. A Saga representative told Decrypt’s GG that the airdrop campaign isn’t currently tied into its collaboration with Marblex, but that Saga is “definitely exploring future ones” with partners, “including Marblex.”
“Marblex will bring their community as part of our joint go-to-market, and Saga is continuing to fine-tune the user acquisition machine in Web3 for gaming,” Liao told Decrypt’s GG.
The network claims to have 320 projects building on it, with approximately 80% of them being games. Saga plans to launch its mainnet this spring, with play-to-airdrop events continuing in the meantime to reward gamers with SAGA token allocations.
Marblex supports a number of games from popular existing franchises, including titles like The King of Fighters Arena and Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds. The chain is built around the MBX token, which has a market cap of around $69 million.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.