In what will likely remain a divisive trend, Ubisoft has announced its plans to go into development for blockchain games as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). How this will affect gamers remain a key question, but it is clear that Ubisoft has been working on such plans for quite some time now.
As reported by the International Business Times, the company will be integrating blockchain technology into future Ubisoft titles. Play-to-earn elements will also be included to allow players to earn content just from playing.
“As you see, this industry is changing regularly with lots of new revolutions happening,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot shared in a recent earnings call.
“We consider blockchain one of those revolutions. It will imply more play-to-earn that will enable more players to actually earn content, own content, and we think it’s going to grow the industry quite a lot. So we have been working with lots of small companies going on the blockchain, and we’re starting to have a good know-how on how we can impact the industry. We want to be one of the key players there.”
The increasing prevalence of both blockchain technology and NFTs is not just limited to Ubisoft alone. Platforms like Steam has already made its stance clear, outlawing applications that have elements of the technology involved. The Epic Games Store, however, does have developers who are utilizing blockchain technology.
Despite all good intentions, there is definitely a negative impact brought about by the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in general. The environmental damage caused by mining and usage of cryptocurrencies is not to be taken likely.
What we do know is the company has plenty of games that will be launching in the next fiscal year, which might be too early to implement the new strategy, but stranger things have happened. We will just have to wait and see what will come of Ubisoft and blockchain in general.
