Pokémon Company opens job advertisement requiring Blockchain, NFT Knowledge – Interest

Siliconera reported that on Tuesday The Pokémon Company International opened a job advertisement for a business development director. One of the requirements is “deep knowledge and understanding of Web 3, including blockchain technologies and NFT, and/or metaverse.”

Although the job description does not refer to Web3, the role “drives innovations by building a platform to test big ideas and sources and build relationships with co-development partners outside of TPCi.”

The new job advertisement is not an official statement of the company’s direction. December last year, The Pokémon Company International filed a lawsuit against Pokémon Pty Ltd, an Australian company advertising its unlicensed non-fungible token (NFT) game “PokéWorld” under the name Kotiota Studios. The Pokémon Company added that it and Nintendo has decided not to launch Pokémon NFTs.

Square Enix, on the other hand, has made its interest in blockchain games explicit. In the company’s financial results Briefing released on February 3, the president and representative director Yosuke Matsuda revealed that blockchain games will be released during or after the third quarter of fiscal year 2024. The statement was in response to a question about the company’s approach to sustainable growth. Matsuda also said that major title launches will be spread over the third quarter of fiscal 2025 and beyond.

Matsuda revealed it earlier in January Square Enix has “multiple” blockchain games, or games using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, in development based on original intellectual properties (IPs). He also stated that Square Enix is focused on devoting aggressive investment and business development efforts to blockchain games. In addition, the company is engaged in global sourcing from an investment perspective.

Square Enix unveiled the history-based NFT collective art project Symbiogenesis 3 November The project starts in spring 2023. Symbiogenesis revolves around the themes of monopolization vs. sharing. Featuring characters from different races and jobs, the story will feature six chapters and the sale of around 10,000 NFT artwork. The project will be available in English and Japanese. Square Enix is working with LGG, a major NFT gaming guild in Japan, to market the project.

Square Enix sell numbers on Final Fantasy VII characters Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith with NFTs. Customers who purchase the digital plus editions can redeem digital versions of the figure as well as a certificate of authenticity.

Sources: Greenhouse, Outline of Financial Results Briefing by Square Enix Holdings via Siliconera (Link 2)