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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify. Don't forget to like and subscribe.

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