As game developers continue to rail against NFT, the various publishers are showing more and more interest.
Faced with the growing interest of Konami or Square Enix, the Union of Video Game Workers (STJV) is loudly opposed to NFTs and blockchain technologies.
The STJV speaks out against NFTs and the blockchain
NFTs and cryptocurrencies are on everyone's lips. So much so that several video game publishers have tried to surf the new wave of trendy buzzwords, like Ubisoft or GSC Game World (STALKER 2), to the chagrin of their teams. A survey showed that 70% of video game developers were against integrating blockchain into their productions. As a result, when Team17 tried to sell NFT, the various studios under its wing dropped it, forcing the independent game publisher to retract.
Faced with the enthusiasm of the various players in the sector, including Nintendo, the Union of Video Game Workers published a long press release to speak out against NFTs and the blockchain, "technologies in search of problems to solve, rather than solving existing problems. As pointed out, the reasons why publishers are interested in it are varied, but the most obvious remains the speculative bubble around blockchain and NFTs. In other words, easy money for the studio, without the need to take responsibility and by attracting an audience that is initially not interested in entertainment.
Monetize the non-existent
"Video games must stop being casinos allowing studios and publishers to exploit the most fragile and the youngest among us", explains the union. “This is a demand that aims as much to protect our ability to produce quality works as to protect the players who wish to take pleasure in discovering them. The organization also sees NFTs as a symbol of an economic system where corporations are so greedy for profit that they even want to monetize the non-existent.
For the syndicate, NFTs indeed refer to an object that can be used in a closed ecosystem, the existence and usefulness of which remain subject to the goodwill of the game publisher. To be able to use it elsewhere, it would then be necessary for the NFT publishing company to give its agreement, then for another studio to agree to integrate them without any significant gain in its own games. Suffice to say that it is utopian. Especially since the properties touted by the promoters of these non-fungible tokens already exist and are already achievable in games without going through the blockchain. Unique objects with various properties? Team Fortress 2 has been doing this for 10 years with trades possible on Steam. Items that can be exchanged for real money? CSGO was already on it. Play-to-earn mechanics (obtaining items in exchange for playing time)? MMORPGs and other gachas like Genshin Impact have made it their core game. The examples are as numerous as they are telling.
