Pac-Man owner Bandai Namco to invest $130M in metaverse

Bandai Namco is investing 15 billion Japanese yen (US$130 million) into building an “IP Metaverse” with its array of games and content, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate announced on Tuesday.

Fast facts

• “Through the IP Metaverse, we will establish communities among Bandai Namco and fans, as well as among fans themselves,” the company wrote in its mid-term plan for investors. 

• Bandai said its upcoming metaverse will bridge digital elements such as the metaverse with the physical world.
• Fellow Japanese gaming giants Sega, Square Enix and Konami have expressed interest or embarked on blockchain projects such as non-fungible tokens (NFT) and the metaverse, but have faced pushback from gaming communities. 

• Bandai Namco owns a collection of globally popular IPs, such as Dark Souls, Dragon Ball, Pac-Man, Gundam and the Digimon franchise.