Ubisoft, a renowned French video game developer, has joined the NFT craze by launching in-game NFTs named Digits. The company announced this news on December 7, noting that it has also created an NFT platform dubbed Ubisoft Quartz. Ubisoft initially seeks to roll out three Digits on December 9, 12, and 15. Reportedly, the firm aims to award early adopters with these three NFTs.
According to the announcement, Digits are playable in AAA games, and they run on Tezos, an energy-efficient blockchain. Ubisoft added that each Digit is a high-quality asset and a unique collectible piece in the Ubisoft world. The first three Digits include a black and red weapon skin for the M4A1 tactical weapon called Wolves, a tactical mask named Wolf Enhanced Helmet A, and Wolf Enhanced Pants.
While the NFTs lack an aesthetic value and do not seem unique, Ubisoft claims they have a unique serial number. This serial number will be visible to other players in-game. When sold, Digits will reportedly show the names of their previous owners.
Tapping web3 to bypass the limitations of traditional technologies
Ubisoft Strategic Innovations Lab developed Ubisoft Quartz, and the platform is launching in beta with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint for PC players on Ubisoft Connect. The platform is currently available to gamers in the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Australia. However, the company seeks to bring the platform to more jurisdictions over time.
Explaining why the firm decided to embrace the blockchain and NFTs, Ubisoft’s Blockchain Product Director, Baptiste Chardon, said,
Blockchain’s decentralized technology enables gaming companies to move beyond current limitations set by more traditional technologies and lay the foundation of an ambitious and exciting new ecosystem that is, by design, truly community driven.
He added that the technology disrupts the gaming industry by introducing concepts like uniqueness and control, which help distribute value in-game worlds. Chardon further noted that the blockchain has the potential to introduce interoperability between games.
Notably, the Ubisoft Quartz ecosystem will co-exist with existing systems at Ubisoft. In so doing, the company seeks to give gamers a new experience while allowing them to continue buying skins and in-game items that are not NFTs.
A commitment to minimize the global carbon footprint
Explaining why Ubisoft decided to use Tezos for its NFTs, the firm’s Blockchain Technical Director, Didier Genevois, said the network uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus model, which is energy-efficient.
He added that,
This type of blockchain achieves the same results while using significantly less energy than Proof-of-Work protocols. To give you an idea, a transaction on Tezos is equivalent to 30 seconds of video streaming, while on Bitcoin, it is equivalent to watching one year straight of video streaming!
