Collectible cards in sports games or beach houses in GTA could soon become NFTs in their own right. But what is actually behind the new trend?
NFTs here NFTs there. The headlines about the digital trend can now be read in all media. For many, however, the term and the functionality behind it still creates question marks. For this reason, we want to get to the bottom of the innovation and explore what exactly is behind it and what impact NFTs could have on the video game industry in the coming years.
NFT & Blockchain – What does it actually mean?
The abbreviation NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. In short, this means a unique digital object that cannot be replaced. These can be sports trading cards, gaming avatars or paintings, for example. The band Kings of Leon also released their album “When You See Yourself” as an NFT in March 2021.
NFT Yourself. Last chance. Ends Friday March 19 at 8pm EST. KOL8https://t.co/FsP0Cj6yTX pic.twitter.com/5vT4c9NKic
– Kings Of Leon (@KingsOfLeon) March 15, 2021
Most NFTs run on the decentralised blockchain system of the cryptocurrency Ethereum. A blockchain, as the name suggests, is a chain of multiple blocks of data. In each of these blocks, vast amounts of transactions are stored, which in turn are stored on a multitude of networked decentralised computers. The blockchain thus functions like a kind of digital accounting. The system is characterised by high transparency and security.
Once in possession of an NFT, you alone are responsible for what happens to it. Each NFT has a unique owner and cannot be exchanged. You can exchange the digital objects with other users at any time or sell them directly. Huge amounts of money have already flowed this way and many companies have already benefited. But what exactly does this innovation mean for our beloved gaming and esports industry?
A good innovation? These are the pros and cons
The NFT market is growing rapidly and spreading to more and more industries. However, around the pros and cons that NFTs bring, the community is very divided. Some say that technology will make collecting artworks and other digital objects easier in the future. In addition, digital objects are very difficult to forge, unlike physical objects.
There are definitely advantages especially for artists, who get another opportunity to turn their works into cash in the digital age. Many video game developers also see an opportunity here.
For others, however, the market is purely speculative and not controllable, but rather a kind of hobby for on the side. Moreover, the process of creating and selling NFTs, as well as the blockchain system, consumes huge amounts of energy and could further deplete the environment in the future. So it seems that the new trend does not only have positive aspects.
Blesson or curse for the gaming industry?
The first time NFTs appeared was in a game called CryptoKitties, released at the end of 2017. Here, players can swap different NFTs with digital cats among each other and create different new cat species by mating. In recent months, more and more major developer studios have become aware of the hype and have taken a stand on the issue.
With Ubisoft Quartz, the French developer was the first AAA studio to present its NFT entry. This is a new system that allows players to earn various NFTs in the form of cosmetic objects. Currently, Ubisoft Quartz is only available for Ghost Recon Breakpoint and only in a few countries at the same time. So we are still very far away from a decentralised system here.
With Take2Interactive, Konami, Square Enix or even Electronic Arts, many other developer studios followed. The latter called NFTs the future of the gaming industry. But are they really? Or are NFTs, after lootboxes and microtransactions, more likely to become the new way to squeeze money out of users’ pockets?
Despite largely negative feedback from the community, NFTs are already being built into games. It seems as if the big players in the video game industry are currently trying to wrap their users around their fingers and force the new system on them. All under the motto: “If you don’t join now, you’ll miss out on something great.”
The truth is that some of the developers themselves do not yet know what is possible with this new system. But of course they are already trying to get many users excited about it as early as possible. However, much is purely speculative. NFTs in video games should therefore still be enjoyed with caution. Not every game necessarily needs NFTs. If they are used sensibly, the system will certainly have potential in the future.
