Why Nexon’s Former CEO Is Betting on the Casual Degen

In this episode of LOL Lounge, host Leah Callon-Butler and YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon chat with James Joonmo Kwon, the former CEO of Nexon and co-founder of Delabs Games — the Korean powerhouse behind YGG Play’s newest release, GIGACHADBAT. A veteran gaming entrepreneur, James has launched over six blockbuster titles and listed two game companies on KOSDAQ.

Filmed at the Delabs office in Seoul at the sidelines of Korea Blockchain Week, the podcast explores how Korea became a technological first mover. The country’s early broadband infrastructure and willingness to experiment with new business models, such as free-to-play, made it a global force in online gaming. Those same traits have propelled it to dominate crypto today. With more than 32% of the Korean population invested in digital assets, the country is once again redefining how tech, culture, and community converge.

Tune in to hear how James and Gabby have translated the learnings from their Web2 gaming careers into winning strategies for marketing, monetization, and growth in Web3 gaming.

LOL Lounge Episode 03 - Why Nexon’s Former CEO Is Betting on the Casual Degen

01:52 — How a shared passion for casual games led to the YGG Play and Delabs Games partnership

06:37 — How to design a game that appeals to the psychology and motivations of the Casual Degen

08:46 — James’ thought process in deciding whether to self-publish or partner with YGG Play

12:17 — How superior local infrastructure birthed one of the world’s strongest gaming cultures

18:50 — Why Korean-developed games like Nexon’s MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter were successful in crossing over to Western markets

24:33 — How Korean crypto has rebuilt trust and reputation following the Terra Luna collapse

27:44 — How James knew (before most) that the smartphone would revolutionize gaming forever

30:08 — What originally inspired Gabby and James about building games with blockchain

31:55 — Why James and Gabby feel Web3 gaming’s current “revenue meta” has been a long time coming

38:52 — Why it’s dangerous to give away something-for-nothing to free-to-play players

40:17 — How ROAS (return on ad spend) in Web2 translates to ROTS (return on token spend) in Web3

43:25 — What went wrong with the play-to-earn model

44:46 — How Web3 games can tap into the Korean esports and KOL communities

47:04 — Why stablecoins represent the mass adoption moment that crypto has been waiting for

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