Ubisoftis not known these days for being a game company that ventures into new territory. With new iterations of steady series andupdates for onoing games likeThe Division 2, it mostly stays the course.
That course is not always one that givesUbisoftthe best image, although it has certainly made the company successful. Its stable of games have built both a sizable fanbase and sizable group of critics. Now Ubisoft is indeed trying something new, which may produce more strong and divided opinions.
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Ubisoft is dipping into non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, held to be, at best, a bold new digital frontier for merchandising and art. At worst, they are seen as environmentally damaging and not worthwhile. Still,even GameStop is dabbling in NFTs now, it’s a popular new frontier. In Ubisoft’s case, it intends to creat NFT items that can be used in games, coded to a blockchain called Ubisoft Quartz, with each item bearing its own personal number, so each individual player’s piece of that equipment is unique.
The first round of Ubisoft Quartz NFTs are pieces of equipment that can be used inGhost Recon: Breakpoint, and can be earned by players for free. They can be earned by anyone on and after December 9 when Ubisoft Quartz launches, but there’s a catch. One NFT is a rifle skin that requires the rifle in question be level 5, one is a pair of pants that requires players sink 100 hours intoBreakpoint, and the last is a helmet that requires 600 hours played. That is a huge time demand, especially when it’s aquestion whetherGhost Recon: Breakpointis even worth playing in 2021.
These were not revealed in theGhost Recon: Breakpointroadmap, but it’s entirely possible there will be more of them on the way after these initial three, with those new ones no doubt costing money. Supposedly Ubisoft wants to ensure these are only available to those who are serious Ubisoft fans.
Only time will tell if Ubisoft’s NFT venture pays off in the end or if players are invested in its titles enough to purchase or even earn them. If not, Quartz likely won’t have much of a shelf life in the immediate future. Still, it’s not like Ubisoft isn’t diversifying its portfolio, what with it alsobuilding a theme park.
