When it comes to the hot words "metaverse" and "NFT", game lovers probably have some beautiful imaginations:
In the Metaverse, even if the glory of the King of Heavens is closed, the game skins and equipment I bought with real money and silver will still belong to me and will not suddenly disappear into the air. It is even possible to break down the various "walls" of the Internet and use it arbitrarily on other gaming platforms...
On December 8, Ubisoft, a major game company with IP such as Assassin's Creed and Full Dance, launched an NFT platform called "Ubisoft Quartz" that can bring you closer to these wild imaginations.
Is making gaming equipment into an NFT trend or a circle of money?
Ubisoft Quartz will provide players with a new experience and a closer connection with their favorite game worlds. Here, the game skins and gear you used to be familiar with will exist in the form of a limited edition of NFTs.
These NFT devices are called Digis, each unique, engraved with a serial number and records changes to the owner, and proof of ownership will be stored on the blockchain.
They are both in-game equipment and unique digital collections that players can trade at any time on designated third-party platforms (Rarible or Objkt).
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint was the first game to support NFT gear.
Ubisoft prepared three rounds of Digis airdrops, distributed free of charge on December 9, 12 and 15, with M4A1 rifles, helmets and trousers. Currently at least 18 years old, in the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Australia and Brazil, the game level is more than 5 players, after opening a crypto wallet can be claimed.
Prior to this, there were actually other blockchain games that used NFT equipment. But this is the first time that a traditional game manufacturer has tested the waters, and it is also the first time that NFTs have been introduced into the AAA masterpiece - referring to large-scale games with high development costs, rich production content, and excellent quality.
▲ Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Nicolas Pouard, vice president of Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab, said Ubisoft Quartz was the first step in Ubisoft's development of a true metacosm.
After a long period of exploration, we understood how the decentralization of blockchain can really make players stakeholders in the game. That is: putting back into their hands the value they generate by spending time, buying equipment, and creating content online.
To dispel gamers' concerns about the new digis, Ubisoft officials have added additional information.
Ubisoft Quartz uses Tezos blockchain technology, and each transaction consumes the equivalent of watching a 30-second video, which is about one-millionth the energy consumption of a Bitcoin transaction, which is more energy-efficient and sustainable.
In addition, Ubisoft Quartz will coexist with the existing game store system. Digis doesn't affect the player's basic gaming experience, it's just like "makeup" or a nice outfit. Even if Ubisoft Quartz or the game itself shuts down, Digis will still exist on the blockchain and it will still belong to you.
While Ubisoft has spent a lot of ink describing visions of decentralization, a metaverse, and new value for players, most gamers say they don't like the "bold and avant-garde" initiative.
As of December 11, Ubisoft Quartz's release video had reached 228,000 views, with only 1,522 people liking the message and 39,000 people "stepping on" it. In the YouTube comment section and Twitter, netizens generally have a negative attitude and even scold Ubisoft for money.
A developer named @jake s says blockchain and NFTs are cool solutions to a small number of important problems, but people often cram it into unwanted products. Game development is supposed to be a passionate project that should be considered to make players have fun; if NFT is used in the game, hype to make money, business models, and other issues will make the game sour.
And netizen @tehMoonwalkeR pointed out that the reason for the various negative reactions is not that people really hate NFTs, but that everyone is worried that the game manufacturers have changed - they have become racking their brains to squeeze every penny from players, rather than seriously thinking about how to make games that people like and how to improve the game experience.
In the world of NFTs, the original creator receives a portion of the royalties for every resale transaction. In this regard, the relevant provisions of Ubisoft Quartz are indeed vague, and Ubisoft officials did not indicate whether they would take a fee, only saying that "in some cases it may be".
Game factory x NFT: some people actively embrace, some people explicitly prohibit
Speculative speculation due to scarcity, the NFT's multi-million dollar out-of-the-loop news stunts have always left the public with the impression of "contemporary tulips".
Now that Ubisoft has introduced NFTs to AAA masterpieces, although it is said that it wants to give players a new experience and control, it is really easy to think of other motives.
The combination of NFT and gaming is so hot and seductive, as can be seen in Axie Infinity, the addictive "crab game" in Southeast Asia.
▲ Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is a pokémon-inspired pet breeding combat game. You'll need to buy 3 NFT pets to start the game, breed new breeds, earn crypto tokens during battles, and sell NFT pets.
This game mode is called "play to earn", and some Filipino youth have earned a house with such games.
DappRadar data shows that in the third quarter of 2021, the total transaction value of NFTs reached $10.67 billion, of which 19% came from Axie Infinity. It is said that the number of daily active players of Axie Infinity is currently close to 3 million, and the NFT pet that has sold the highest price is about $2.33 million.
In the face of this new technology, the attitudes of game manufacturers are different.
Ubisoft is almost the most active with blockchain technology, having been groping in the field for 4 or 5 years before launching Ubisoft Quartz. Ubisoft has an Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab accelerator program designed to support promising entertainment startups, many of which are crypto game companies, and the developers of Axie Infinity are also involved in this program.
In October, Ubisoft also invested in Animoca Brands, a crypto company; in December, plans to develop blockchain games were announced at an earnings conference, calling it a "revolution" in the gaming industry and expressing a special interest in making money while playing.
Square Enix, the game developer of Final Fantasy, also recently announced plans to develop an NFT game. EA (Electronic Arts), which has IP such as "Red Alert" and "FIFA", CEO Andrew Wilson called NFTs and playing and making money "the key to the future of the game industry".
Unlike Ubisoft, EA, etc., Valve explicitly prohibits the use of blockchain, NFTs or cryptocurrencies for games on the Steam platform. The Epic Games Store allows blockchain games to be available, but requires compliance with laws, disclosure terms, age ratings, but says it won't use NFTs and encryption in its own games.
Some argue that the world of NFTs and cryptocurrencies is rife with scams and unfair transactions, which is the biggest reason why Valve and Epic Games remain cautious.
As a simple example, the NFT project Evolved Apes originally claimed to develop a blockchain game, but in October this year, the founder disappeared into the Internet with $2.7 million worth of Ether.
▲ The Evolved Apes "Evolutionary Apes" project that absconded in volumes
For true game enthusiasts, they may be more concerned about whether future NFT equipment is really cross-game and cross-platform universal than speculative hype.
Ubisoft Quartz is like building the infrastructure first, waiting for the boundaries to expand from game to game after game – but Ubisoft hasn't revealed any detailed thoughts on this at this point.
At present, some third-party projects hope to realize the vision of "universal game skins". For example, the avatar platform Ready Player Me, which wants to be your "meta-universe pass", currently has more than 680 apps and games that support login or import.
▲ Ready Player Me, which can quickly generate avatars
Recently, Clone-X, launched by Takashi Murakami and RTFKT Studios, also provides 3D files that allow buyers to use it in NFT games, AR filters, Zoom conferences and meta-universe platforms in the future.
▲ NFT project Clone-X
The NFT project Loot, launched by Vine co-founders, is more thorough: 8 lines of randomly generated text describing helmets, weapons, necklaces and other equipment characteristics.
Txt on a black background and white characters may seem inexplicable, but every game developer can interpret and re-create this, and to some extent it is actually a more basic "universal".
▲ Make up the loot's text equipment description brain, pictured from @supergremplin
In any case, this time the game giant Ubisoft went down to engage in its own NFT, or released a signal to connect the future.
With the first crab-eating game big factory, will the second three four five soon keep up? Will the days of shared skins in Glory of Kings and League of Legends come soon? As Ubisoft Quartz says in the video, it's just getting started.