Ubisoft’s NFT Efforts are Off to a Rocky Start
Read the full article by Sam Reynolds here
Key Points
Ubisoft, along with other major game publishers, are pushing NFTs as a next-generation companion to games. But are gamers interested?
On-chain data shows that Ubisoft has had less than $500 in volume on its gaming NFTs
Ubisoft has faced immense backlash from its developers as it tries to push NFTs as a new companion for games — along with many of the world’s other larges studios.
Ubisoft’s much hyped in-game NFT system, which launched earlier this month on the Tezos blockchain alongside Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, hasn’t caught the interest of gamers, according to on-chain data from trackers Objkt and Rarible.
Ubisoft’s decision to push for in-game NFTs hasn’t been popular amongst its developers. The trade union representing the company’s Paris-based employees denounced the pivot to NFTs in a statement published earlier this week.
“Ubisoft has recently entered the blockchain and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) market. A decision that has been widely criticised by our players, bringing no improvements or benefits to our games,” the statement reads.
While Ubisoft continues to push ahead with its NFT integration plans, the company behind the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl has decided to cancel its NFT plans based on negative feedback it received from fans.
A recent survey from insight agency Opinium showed that 58% of its surveyed 197 video game developers are now beginning to use blockchain technology, with 64% saying that blockchain technology will become prevalent in video gaming within the next two years, and 53% believing that NFTs would be more common by then too.
But this data is for developers and not gamers themselves, so until some comprehensive data from gamers comes along, on-chain data will be the best proxy on the actual interest for NFTs in games.