But what does it even mean to be marrying gaming with blockchains and cryptocurrency anyway? On a very rudimentary level, the idea could be a different way of earning in-game assets and items where you’ll hold something like an NFT (non-fungible token) to ensure that the item is yours and can’t be taken away. For those needing a quick primer, an NFT (non-fungible token) is a unit of data in a blockchain that can be represented as a file, like images or videos. You could see how Ubisoft could easily replace an NFT image with something like a very unique skin for a character that you could earn or buy, and it could be a limited and rare item. That’s just one way the blockchain could be employed in gaming.
However, Ubisoft isn’t building its own games on this platform yet. The idea right now is that it’s investing in other companies and allowing them to do their thing. It’ll be what Ubisoft learns about how those companies, like Animoca Brands, use the technology to then be studied and possibly applied to Ubisoft’s own games. With almost every game that Ubisoft has made having some type of virtual currency tied to them, it would be interesting to see how they could implement a cryptocurrency that could be transferred between different games within its library. For example, playing Assassin’s Creed for over 100 hours racking up tons of currency, and then wanting to try out something new in Rainbow Six that you just couldn’t earn enough in-game change for, might be a pretty cool perk for some gamers.
Nothing is set in stone for Ubisoft and the company hasn’t moved forward with their own use of blockchain, but it’s going to be interesting to see where it goes with the whole concept. Right now digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs are considered quite controversial to many, due to the impact on the environment and global chip shortages. And with Ubisoft’s recent kerfuffle with its fans, it might be a good idea to not stir the pot right now, but we shall see. Let us know what you think in the comments below…
