Some gaming companies are done flirting with NFTs

Some game companies that offered non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to players as in-game rewards have decided that their virtual worlds are better off without them.

One reason for pulling back from NFT schemes is that prices for some NFTs and for cryptoassets in general have fallen since the 2021 surge in NFT enthusiasm, Bloomberg reported on Sunday (September 18). Another reason cited by some game company executives interviewed by Bloomberg is that players don’t seem to like them.

For some, the NFT reward systems “fundamentally change the dynamics of a game and the expectations of players.” For some participants, including game makers and players, the fun of gaming became too much like investing.

In a recent announcement explaining a new policy of not allowing NFTs on its platform going forward, Minecraft maker Mojang cited several NFT applications in the game, saying, “Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which is inconsistent with the Minecraft values ​​of creative inclusion and playing together.”

The announcement continued, “We are also concerned that some third-party NFTs may not be reliable and may end up costing players who purchase them. Some third-party NFT implementations also rely entirely on blockchain technology and may require an asset manager that may disappear without notice.”

Bloomberg quoted game developer Mark Venturelli, a critic of the integration of NFT transactions and games, as telling the news service via email that players tend to be tech-savvy and passionate about the gameplay itself. “When you combine those two things, it’s easy to see why they fail to see the appeal of a gimmick technology that provides nothing of value beyond a ‘make money quick’ scheme.”

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Gaming company Atmos Labs CEO Kevin Beauregard told PYMNTS for an article published on September 2 that in-game NFTs can add more experience and value to players, but he prefers not to use the industry-standard terminology for the practice.

“I don’t love the narrative of making money,” he told PYMNTS. “I focus on the word ownership. If you do anything to earn, it’s all about work. It’s not fun anymore.”

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