Yield Guild Games enters Japan

Yield Guild Games (YGG), a play-to-earn (P2E) gaming startup, has launched in Japan via partnerships with several industry players.

Image credit: YGG Japan

Infinity Ventures Crypto, YGG Southeast Asia, Akatsuki, Double Jump Tokyo, Crypto Games, Kii, Days, and angel investors are some of the current business partners of YGG Japan. The startup is also in discussions with other potential investors, including Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based gaming unicorn.

Based in the Philippines, YGG aims to make GameFi accessible to a wider audience. The blockchain-focused company currently has over 100,000 members and 20,000 scholars – people who rent NFT assets in order to play P2E games – from more than 24 countries.

With its Japan venture, the company plans to onboard local players to P2E games and support homegrown companies in launching their own blockchain games. YGG aims to do this by developing services that enable participation in gaming communities, bolster partnerships with existing guilds and scholarship structures, and promote awareness of blockchain titles among Japanese gamers.

Japan is a pioneer of the gaming industry, introducing the world to games such as Super Mario, Pokemon, and Sonic the Hedgehog. This is one of the reasons why YGG decided to expand into the country, according to a company statement.

Japanese mobile games have also recently introduced “gacha” – a mechanic that brings randomized virtual loot boxes to players – driving up spending on games.

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“Based on our previous experience in establishing and investing in social games in Japan, we believe there is an enormous potential for play-to-earn [games] to grow exponentially in Japan,” said Akio Tanaka, a partner at YGG Japan.

The announcement comes months after IndiGG, the India sub-decentralized autonomous organization (subDAO) of YGG, raised US$6 million in new funding from Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Animoca Brands.