Ubisoft CEO claims NFT launches were simply ‘research’

In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has discussed the future of NFTs and blockchain technologies in the company, describing their implementation in games as Ghost Recon Breakpoint as simple ‘research’. It appears that Ubisoft is now moving away from this space, following a brief hype period in 2021 that saw several NFTs launched via the company’s ambitious Ubisoft Quartz blockchain platform.

“We probably weren’t good at saying we’re doing research,” Guillemot told GamesIndustry.biz. “We should have said we were working on it and when we have something that gives you a real advantage, we will bring it to you.”

“As a company, we went early into VR, early into Wii. We always try new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s always to make sure we can bring a new experience to players that will be innovative and interesting. The aim of the company is always to create the best experience, and new technology is always good for that because there is less competition and people are more interested in trying new things on new technology.’

According to Guillemot, to explore is not the same as launch – and it seems that the NFT and blockchain implementations are in Ghost Recon Breakpoint simply fits into that “exploration” period.

“This industry is evolving quickly and it’s very cautious about the impact it wants to have. Like so many things, in the beginning, it’s not as good as it could be, but like other new technologies, they will find the right path, Guillemot said.

This is a pretty good conclusion for Ubisoft’s big foray into the NFT space, with Guillemot seeming to admit that the technology currently doesn’t work as intended, and doesn’t add worthwhile value to players.

Read: Ubisoft VP says players “don’t understand” why NFTs are good

In reality is Ghost Recon Breakpoint The NFT experiment went rather poorly for Ubisoft, with few players buying the game’s NFTs, and the online marketplace for these items stagnated very early on. According to a Kotaku report, very few transactions took place on Ubisoft Quartz, even at the height of NFT fever. As of December 2021, retail markets had reportedly recorded just a handful of sales, totaling 94.49 Tezos – worth just AU$540.

After a brand new platform launch, and the loss of player goodwill – NFTs have been highly controversial online, with many pointing out their lack of value and impact on the environment as extreme negatives – it seems that Ubisoft has concluded that the technology is not longer is worth it.

While Guillemot reportedly told employees that NFTs were “just the beginning” at the end of 2021, the CEO now appears to be backtracking on the company’s NFT ambitions. The early foray into the NFT space was reportedly the result of ambitious research and development, but enthusiasm for the technology now appears to be waning. Guillemot did not completely rule out a return to NFTs in the future, but his assessment of the company’s NFT research project is quite damning.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” according to Guillemot — and it looks very much like it Ghost Recon Breakpoint NFT experiment is placed in the ‘doesn’t work’ pile. It’s unlikely we’ll see more Ubisoft NFTs in the future.