Casual gamers are continuing to spend an increasing amount of time playing their favorite games. Historically, game publishers have provided gamers with the chance to earn in-game rewards based on time and effort. However, the rewards have not been easily transferable to other games.
The rise of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) could be revolutionary for this aspect of the gaming industry. Imagine a world where your rewards gained playing League of Legends, Valorant, or Fortnite could be transferred to any other game you enjoy. That new world may now be turning into reality as major game publishers jump on the NFT bandwagon. With the announcement of their Quartz NFT platform, Ubisoft has become the first major game publisher to launch NFTs.
To be sure, there have been many voices against the introduction of NFTs into the gaming space. The criticisms include potential environmental damages due to the power consumption costs of NFTs. Another issue is verification. How can a player trust the particular “blockchain” that the game publisher claims to be using? It’s not like an actual blockchain client where the chain is distributed on a vast collection of computers. With the introduction of new gaming blockchains, the publishers can control the client which would make verification problematic.
Ubisoft has attempted to address these concerns with some recent comments from Didier Genevois, Ubisoft’s Blockchain Technical Director. According to Genevois, Ubisoft’s principles are to “only leverage energy-efficient proof-of-stake blockchains,” and “focus on meaningful value propositions for players that benefit their gaming experience.”
The actual tokens players can earn on Ubisoft’s Quartz platform are called “Digits” which represent a unique collectible and in-game cosmetic playable item. These can range from in-game vehicles to weapons through pieces of equipment.
For this first experience, Digits are only available to PC Connect Players of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. They are created in limited numbers with each collection of Digits being called an “Edition”.
Most interestingly, Digits enable gamers to put items on sale whenever they want and at the price they set. Similarly, gamers can purchase new items directly from other players. There are three key items that make the Digits unique:
- Limited Editions – Each Digit is released as part of an Edition that is composed of an immutable number of items. No new Digits will ever be added to an existing Edition.
- Serial Numbers – Every single Digit features a serial number. This serial number is displayed on the collectible and on the in-game item. Only the player has control of this Digit.
- Player Names – Each Digit will also be tied to the player names of all its previous and current owner. Ubisoft’s marketing mentions that this will “bring you fame for years to come!”
Ubisoft emphasizes that “Ubisoft Quartz has been made for players, and players only. We will make sure that anyone who wants to acquire Digits is a player that is engaged in the Ubisoft ecosystem.”
Energy Efficient
Digits are the first Ubisoft NFTs, playable in an HD game and stored on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain Tezos. Compared to the Proof-of-Work protocol used with Bitcoin, the PoS protocol offers a more advanced and energy-efficient alternative. PoS blockchains work on a consensus mechanism that does not rely on complex computational efforts to validate transactions and therefore does not incentivize extreme amounts of energy consumption.
There are many valid concerns about the introduction of NFTs into the gaming world. However, the gaming space has consistently been at the forefront of many technological innovations. It remains to be seen if major concerns, such as environmental impact, can be addressed by game publishers. If so, then NFTs may become an exciting frontier for the next generation of gamers.
