Game titan Ubisoft to bring NFTs to in-game items this week
NFTs, as non-fungible tokens are widely known, have exploded in popularity and are widely used for digital art collectibles. However, critics have argued that NFTs are bad for the environment and offer little benefit over traditional systems.
Ubisoft – famous for games such as The Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six series - is the most significant game developer and publisher to launch an NFT project. However, the use of NFT in gaming has remained controversial. This is because of the belief that its sole focus lies in making money instead of providing benefits to players.
How Does It Work?
Ubisoft will launch its first batch of digits, called "limited editions," for one of its games, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon breakpoint. This event will hold on Thursday. Users will pay for them using cryptocurrencies, but this will only be possible in the launch countries, including Canada, the US, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Brazil, and Australia.
Related news: Ubisoft Creates the Quartz, An Energy-Efficient NFT Platform
Many games generate money selling in-game cosmetic items or "skins" that change the look of characters or items, especially games that are free to play like a warzone. The company has been exploring blockchain technology for four years. However, certain problems exist. Ubisoft says it uses the Tezos blockchain because it requires "exceedingly less energy" than other systems used to mine Bitcoin or Ethereum crypto-currencies.
Traditional crypto-systems use "proof of work," which involves powerful computers doing intense calculations to verify transactions. Tezos uses a different system called "proof of stake." But the whole idea of including NFTs in games is controversial in itself, and NFT and blockchain games have been banned from being listed on its store by Steam, the largest PC gaming platform. This has resulted in the removal of some early NFT-based games.
A popular Twitter thread from a game designer on the topic, arguing against NFTs and blockchain technology in building games, has been retweeted thousands of times. But Ubisoft said its NFT system is a first step towards "developing a true metaverse."