Ubisoft sticking to NFTs, cites “principles”

In an interview with Decrypt (thanks Eurogamer), Ubisoft’s blockchain director Didier Genevois says the company will be plowing ahead with its NFT plans while staying true to its “principles”, as he puts it: “This experiment is meant to understand how the value proposition of decentralization can be received and embraced by our players. We know it is a major change that will take time, but we will stay true to our three principles.”

The three principles he’s referring to are to “use the tech responsibly and build a safe environment” for players to explore the new frontier of NFTs, “only leverage energy-efficient proof-of-stake blockchains”, and “focus on the meaningful value propositions for players that benefit their gaming experience”. It’s unclear how any of these three principles are being implemented at this time.

Ubisoft’s first foray into NFTs launched as Ubisoft Quartz, an NFT platform for AAA games along with the first game to use them, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Unfortunately, it’s proven utterly unpopular out the gate even compared to other NFT marketplaces, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for the company’s NFT efforts. Still, it seems dedicated to pressing on, so we’ll see how this initiative shakes out.

Even for a company as large as Ubisoft, it’s got a lot on its plate. Earlier this year, the company had to deal with credible accusations of workplace sexism and abuse that it has yet to satisfactorily address. And the pandemic has not been kind to Ubisoft, as a great exodus of talent is bleeding the company dry. Still, it seems content to press on like nothing’s wrong.