Mojang, creator of Minecraft, took a definitive stance against non-fungible tokens (NFTs) earlier this week, saying it “has no plans to implement blockchain technology in Minecraft right now.”
It’s an approach that is contrary to what many video game makers have taken in recent months, sometimes despite player protests. And it might just be the excuse that a number of fence-sitters need to dodge the issue altogether.
Of course, Mojang is not just a developer. Minecraft is one of the biggest games in the industry. The developer is also owned by Microsoft, which also sends the message that when it comes to the gaming division of that company, NFTs are not seen so kindly.
In its statement, Mojang said it does not support NFTs because they “do not include our entire community and create a scenario of haves and have-nots.” It’s not too far from the statements that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has made about the technology in the past.
“What I would say today about NFT, as a whole, is that I think there’s a lot of speculation and experimentation going on, and that some of the creatives I see today feel more exploited than entertained,” Spencer told Axios. “I think anything that we’ve looked at in our showcase that we’ve said is exploitative would be something that, you know, acts. We don’t want that kind of content.”
He is not alone. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said that NFTs are “100% based on the bigger fool theory”, a bubble in which excess assets continue to be sold at even higher prices to a “more stupid “.
Players have been quite clear when it comes to expressing their thoughts on NFT in games. A vocal contingent feels that this is just the latest way for nickel and dime publishers to pay more to enjoy a title — an extension of the microtransactions, loot boxes, and other monetized practices that have become part of the landscape. modern game.
That hasn’t stopped some big publishers from tapping into them. Ubisoft, for one, has embraced NFT; a publisher executive ruffled some feathers earlier when he said fans “don’t understand what a digital secondary market can bring to them.”
And while Take-Two Interactive Software hasn’t folded it into its games portfolio because of the speculative nature of NFTs, CEO Strauss Zelnick says he doesn’t expect the company to ignore them forever.
“We’re in the entertainment business,” he says. “When there’s a reset, and NFTs take their proper place as part of the entertainment economy, that’s when they become really interesting for what we do.”
Ironically, on paper NFTs seem to be a good fit for video games. They are collectible and can, in games like Axle Infinity, be used to fight other players. They can also be used to generate real-world financial returns that reward the most skilled players.
The technology, however, has not proven to be particularly secure. Axle Infinity saw hackers steal around $625 million worth of cryptocurrency from the network used to process transactions, rendering players’ investments largely worthless.
And NFTs themselves are not the hot item they used to be, especially after the recent crypto crash. A study by NonFungible found that in the first quarter of 2022, gaming-related NFTs had a total loss of $50 million, making them the least profitable segment of the entire NFT industry from a commercial point of view .
That said, Mojang has not licensed NFTs for any purpose. The company might be eschewing the technology for the immediate future, but it also promised to pay “close attention to how blockchain technology evolves over time to . . . determine whether it will allow safer experiences or other practical and inclusive applications in games “.
In other words, if the current crypto winter is followed by an abundant crypto spring, some of the biggest NFT skeptics in the video game world may be open to rethinking their position.
