The gaming industry has quickly become a part of the rapidly growing non-fungible token (NFT) space. This integration is evident in the success of Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game that has generated a trading volume of $3.8 billion thus far. Metaverse games like The Sandbox and Decentraland have also caught on as the demand for digital land continues soaring.
Although crypto-native NFT games are booming, players and fans of the traditional video game industry are pushing back against companies in the legacy gaming industry embracing NFTs. An example is when Ubisoft got a lot of resistance for announcing Quartz, a Tezos-powered in-game NFT platform. The gaming community claimed that the project was a lousy cash-grab attempt.
Despite the backlash, Ubisoft decided to push ahead with its plans, which also involved integrating NFTs into existing AAA titles, starting with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. However, not all video game developers that chose to go the NFT way stuck to their course. For instance, GSC Game World walked back on its NFT plans due to the massive resistance from gamers.
Players resisting change is inevitable
According to Sebastien Borget, the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of The Sandbox, it is only natural for players to bash video game developers that embrace NFTs. Borget pointed out that user-owned NFT items and tokenized game economies represent a significant shift. However, he believes the gaming industry will inevitably embrace NFTs because they offer multiple perks.
Borget noted that developing games around NFTs and crypto could revolutionize the game experience by offering players monetary benefits. He added that such a feature would let players buy and sell fully-owned in-game items freely. Moreover, Borget believes NFTs would let players use items across different games and online platforms.
Combined with the success of NFT games in 2021, Borget believes the above perks will see game studios increasingly adopt blockchain-based products this year.
He went as far as to say,
What this will create is the fastest and most adopted business model transition that we’ve ever seen.
A new generation of gamers will make NFT games mainstream
Unlike in traditional video games like Fortnite and Roblox, where players buy items that remain under the ownership of the game publisher, NFT games allow players to own in-game items. While gamers are fighting this model, it is worth noting that it is not the first shift in the gaming industry that has faced backlash.
Notably, players criticized downloadable content (DLC) and free-to-play models before becoming industry standards. To this end, Borget believes NFT games will eventually catch on despite the friction from players. Urging players to embrace change, he said they should not fear a new model simply because they have grown into the old model.
Still, he believes a new generation of gamers will be the driving force behind making NFT games mainstream. According to him, gamers that grow up in the digital-first world will get used to the idea that anything they own virtually is valuable and easily transferable.
