Why the Minecraft creator’s NFT snub could be a turning point for videoga

Mojang, the creator of Minecrafttook one definite position against non-fungible tokens (NFTs) earlier this week, saying it has “no plans to implement blockchain technology in Minecraft right now.”

It’s an approach that’s contrary to what many video game makers have taken in recent months, sometimes despite protests from players. And it may be just the excuse that a number of fence sitters need to avoid the problem altogether.

Of course, Mojang isn’t just any developer. Minecraft is one of the industry’s biggest games. The developer is also owned by Microsoft, which further sends the message that when it comes to the company’s gaming division, NFTs are not viewed so kindly.

In its statement, Mojang said it would not support NFTs because they “do not include our entire community and create a scenario of haves and have-nots.” It’s not too far from statements Xbox boss Phil Spencer has made about the technology in the past.

“What I want to say today at NFTs is that I think there’s a lot of speculation and experimentation going on, and some of the creative stuff I’m seeing today feels more exploitative than entertainment,” Spencer told Axios. “I think anything that we looked at in our storefront that we said is exploitative would be something that we would, you know, take action on. We don’t want that kind of content.”

He is not alone. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said NFTs are “100% based on greater fool theory”, a bubble where overpriced assets continue to sell at even higher prices to a “greater fool”.

Players have been quite clear when it comes to expressing their thoughts on NFTs in games. A vocal contingent feel that this is just the latest way for publishers to nickel and dime and make them pay more to enjoy a title – an extension of the microtransactions, loot boxes and other monetization practices that have become part of the modern gaming landscape.

That hasn’t stopped some major publishers from leaning into them. Ubisoft, for one, has embraced NFTs; an executive at the publisher previously ruffled some feathers when he said fans “don’t realize what a digital secondary market can give them.”

And while Take-Two Interactive Software hasn’t folded them into its portfolio of games yet due to the speculative nature of NFTs, CEO Strauss Zelnick says he doesn’t expect the company to ignore them forever.

“We’re in the entertainment business,” he says. “When there’s a reset, and NFTs take their rightful place as part of the entertainment economy, that’s when they become really interesting to what we do.”

Ironically, on paper, NFTs seem like a good fit for video games. They are collectibles and can, in games like Axle Infinity, is used to fight other players. They can also be used to generate real-world financial returns that reward the most skilled players.

However, the technology has not proven to be particularly secure. Axle Infinity then hackers stealing around $625 million worth of cryptocurrency from the network used to process transactions, rendering player investments largely useless.

And there are NFTs themselves hardly the hot element they used to be, especially after the recent crypto crash. A study by NonFungible found that in the first quarter of 2022, gaming-related NFTs had a total loss of $50 millionmaking them the least profitable segment of the entire NFT industry from a trading point of view.

That said, Mojang didn’t reject NFTs with any kind of finality. The company may want to avoid the technology for the immediate future, but it also promised to be “closely attentive to how blockchain technology evolves over time to . . . determine whether it will allow for more secure experiences or other practical and inclusive applications in games.”

In other words, if the current crypto winter is followed by a bountiful crypto spring, some of the video game world’s biggest NFT skeptics may be open to rethinking their stance.