Gamer vs NFTs: where does the disgust come from?

Yes League of Legends or Fortnite, the business of virtual elements in video games is booming. These items often only change the appearance of weapons or your own character. However, so-called microtransactions have become a serious monetization model for games that were otherwise available for a fixed price or completely free. valves, the company behind the Steam gaming platform, is already going one step further. behind titles like counter strike global offensive Y dota 2 Entire markets arose in which objects were sold and traded. Wouldn’t the introduction of NFT be the next logical step here?

At least that’s what the big distributors thought. company like ubisoftHe started experimenting with NFT platforms. GSC game world had for his coveted shooter title stalker 2 even larger plans. Because coupling game items to NFTs would have even paved the way for the game to enter the metaverse.

In both cases, the gaming community jumped on the barricades. An announcement trailer for by ubisoft platform “Quartz” flooded them with dislikes and also in stalker 2 they made their displeasure known to the public. The consequence: Ubisoft was surprised by the negative headlines, but told BTC-ECHO that they would continue with the support of a “strong but fairly quiet community.” GSC game world receded over Twitter the company announced the end of all NFT plans for stalker 2.

But where does the community discontent come from? And how do game developers feel about their distribution companies’ plans?

Development studios don’t think much of NFTs

As far as this last question is concerned, a new survey provides quite clear results. In advance of Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, organizers conducted a survey of 2,700 developers. NFTs and payment with cryptocurrencies were also in the questionnaire.

Both points revealed persistent rejection. This was 70 percent for NFT integration and 72 percent for crypto payments. Only 28 percent said they were at least slightly interested in NFT offerings in their video games. For crypto payments, the figure was 27 percent. However, the study authors note an increase in interest here.

The gaming news portal kotaku He also published some statements that had been collected anonymously in the course of the survey. When it comes to NFT, one statement is particularly interesting:

You will open a gap in the heart of this industry. It’s going to be very clear what people’s motivations are, and it’s not going to be pretty.

The question raised here about the motivations behind the implementation of NFT seems crucial to the entire debate. It takes us back to the gaming community.

Players have never been a fan of microtransactions

In the course of his research on the subject, he spoke New York Times with some members of the community. His statements paint a clear picture. Because player criticism of NFTs is not primarily based on a lack of understanding of the technology. Most of them are more concerned with the fact that the introduction of NFTs is not associated with any innovations in the game. The only priority would be to maximize profits. A player who participated in the online protest against NFT plans stalker 2 involved, quoted the newspaper as follows:

The studio abused its popularity. It is so obvious that they are looking for profit instead of just making a good game.

This criticism is – then the Times – but it is not a new phenomenon. Because the increasing monetization of additional content and the triumph of microtransactions has been a thorn in the side of the gaming community for some time. In the integration of NFT, therefore, they recognize the immediate continuation of this trend.

In the last 10 years we have seen all kinds of plans and we are tired of

another player interviewed said. If game publishers still want their NFT plans to be acceptable to the community, they will probably have to take a different approach than before.