Back

NFT Under Fire

The discussion around NFTs in gaming has heated up recently as more companies push into the blockchain space. Streamers, influencers, game developers, and stores voice their hopes and worries that new technology will affect them. Read on to find out why game studios reverse their decisions on NFTs and why this topic is so controversial. In other news:

🚗 Rockstar confirms works on the newest GTA

📝 Twitch signs two music-related deals

📈 Intel is on a quest to help PC gamers in the face of GPU shortages

Let’s talk

GIF meme about NFT

NFTs and blockchain are some of the hottest topics in gaming. It’s the talk of the town, including everyone and their dog. Game developers and publishers see the opportunities this digital content may bring to the gaming space. However, others raise concerns about the usability of the new tech, leading to businesses changing their plans.

Last week Team 17 announced their entry into the NFT space with MetaWorms, a project based on a cult-classic series of games. This decision was met with serious backlash from fans, as well as studios and developers for whom Team 17 publishes. Facing a heavy pushback, Team 17 decided to backtrack on the NFT project, at least for now.

The case of Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson may tell a similar story. On the last earnings call, Wilson downplayed its plans to introduce NFTs into its strategy. In August 2017, Wilson called blockchain “the future of our industry”.

Itch.io, a digital distributor of indie games, presented a bolder and more straightforward approach. The store said NFTs are a plain scam on its official Twitter account.

Top streaming creators are voicing similar opinions from Hasan and Pokimane, criticising celebrities promoting NFTs to Asmongold roasting their enthusiasts.

The current use of blockchain technology is without a doubt under heavy fire in gaming and streaming communities. But is this just a passing resistance to technological breakthroughs or is there something more to it than that? The discussion about blockchain seems to be raising more controversies than any gaming technology in history. So why is the NFT different? According to Brendan Sinclair from gamesindustry.biz, the discussion is so heated this time due to the personal beliefs and outlooks outside of gaming.

We see that developers and publishers cannot treat blockchain as another way to squeeze extra money from gamers. Integrating this tech into games should be considered carefully by any studio wanting to venture into the NFT space. Current backlash is a sign that gamers care about their passion, the crypto space’s environmental ramifications, and mindless exploits to cash out on the hype. To convince them to NFT adoption, game creators will have to find innovative ways in which NFT could genuinely improve the gaming experience.

Writer's photo

Antonina Marc

Week review

Gaming

Stadia is reportedly “deprioritised” as Google focuses on selling streaming tech to third parties.

After two problematic years, Google “reduces interest” in its game streaming service.

GTA 6 Confirmed: Rockstar Finally Says It’s in Development

An absolute beast in gaming and one of the top streamed titles in the world is getting a new game.

Streaming

Twitch strikes a new Universal Music deal to help stop DMCA streamer bans to mitigate copyright claim issues streamers face.

Twitch will now give creators a chance to correct the unauthorised use of music by issuing a warning.

Twitch and Merlin announce a strategic partnership.

Merlin, an indie music licensing group, disclosed its partnership with Twitch ‘to better engage fan communities across the Twitch ecosystem’.

Metaverse

Meta adding “Personal Boundary” feature to curb creepy behaviour

The new option in Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues aims to increase the security of metaverse users by physically determining the safe boundaries for interactions.

Why gamers hate crypto, and music fans don’t

Gamers roast NFTs while music fans have high hopes for them.