This must be why SM is very tight lipped about their ae-Aespa plans. They must be developing a sort of game platform with microtransactions. These are HUGE moneymakers in East Asia, especially in China where Aespa is popular. Now that SM is bleeding money from their traditional investments this new direction is a smart move.
The aesthetics for “Next Level” (obvious hint here) has that neopunk x fantasy x tech feel that’s very common in gamer franchises.