Ubisoft plans to cool down its rhetoric behind NFT game projects
Ubisoft plans to cool down its rhetoric behind NFT game projects
After facing a major backlash, Ubisoft is focusing on market research. The CEO blames a lack of communication for the setback
By Shashank Bhardwaj
Image courtesy: Ubisoft
Ubisoft is raising concerns about Web3 integrations in its game projects following the backlash at Project Quartz. The company is taking a step back from the NFT projects it had previously planned. The French gaming giant seems to have understood the requirement for proper planning before releasing blockchain tokens and NFT gaming projects.
CEO Yves Guillemot said Project Quartz was in its “research mode”. The company’s stance on tokenization and Web3 integrations has changed with the change in leadership. Previously, Ubisoft planned to be the key player in blockchain integrations of gaming projects, allowing users to play and earn their content. The company has now released a new plan to look into NFT applications for the game and whether or not they will benefit the players.
“We are very much on the cloud, on the new generation of voxels, and we are looking at all the Web3 features. We tested a few things recently that give us more information about how it can be used and what we should do in the universe of video games, ” said the CEO, adding that the company is testing foundations for NFT gaming projects.
Towards the end of last year, Ubisoft launched its first foray into NFTs after the launch of Ubisoft Quartz. The move aimed to provide players with playable NFTs that can be used in-game in Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
The gaming community did not take this move well and pushed back on Ubisoft’s plans, saying the company was trying to milk money out of the NFT integrations. Following the backlash, the company released a statement suggesting that it believes “players don’t understand what a digital secondary market can bring them.” The CEO suggested that it all happened due to a lack of proper communication regarding the company’s approach to the NFT gaming projects. The research phase of the Ubisoft plans was thus extended.
Guillemot also expressed his concern about blockchain and NFT implementation in gaming projects. The proof-of-work concept integrated with tokenization is an energy-intensive task. He suggests that the company is being cautious and plans to be optimistic about the future. “Like so many things, in the beginning, it is not as good as it could be, but like other new technologies, they will find the right path,” reads his official statement in the context of the company’s future approach.
Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash
