Things have taken a very interesting turn in the world of the NFT as gaming giants Ubisoft announced that they are introducing them to their title Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. The non-fungible tokens are coming to the popular shooter in the form of collectable items called ‘Digits’.
Ubisoft says they’re bringing in the NFTs as an experiment and say their new venture is both ‘energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable.’ Ubisoft is setting up another platform called Ubisoft Quartz to deal with the business of the NFTs, so they appear to be taking things very seriously. Each digit in the game will have a unique serial number which means that players will have a truly uniquely customised character that is playable on Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, setting them apart from the rest.
The first three Digits will be released for free, although players must obtain them within a limited time after their release and fulfil specific criteria in the game to get hold of them. Two of the items are only claimable by players who have invested significant time into the title, a special helmet for their character is only available to those who have played for at least 600 hours. Ubisoft’s Blockchain Business and Product Director, Baptiste Chardon, said this idea was to focus the rewards for their most engaged players.
While this is the first time that such a prominent developer has dipped their toe into using NFTs, some could say it’s been coming for a while. For some time, there have been rumours that a competitive, free-to-play first-person shooter is coming that will have the tokens as a vital part of its construct, as the winners of the game would ‘extract’ tradeable NFTs by way of a reward for their efforts.
The game, which is rumoured to be developed by former developers of Call of Duty and Halo, is a further sign that NFTs are growing in prominence with some of the most familiar brands and celebrities being involved. The rise of NFTs in popular culture has been swift and dramatic. Indeed, one NFT, Socios fan tokens, hit the headlines earlier this year when football megastar Lionel Messi moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain in France. The world’s best player accepted a large portion of his signing on fee in the tokens, which supporters have been snapping up to get closer to their favourite club. Purchasers of the non-expiring uniquely coded tokens gain access to polls which could influence club decisions from naming rights to the training facilities, deciding the mural in the dressing room, and they’ve all been snapped up. The demand raised their value by 43%, according to Marca, meaning Messi and the club certainly could feel the benefit of that increase.
But sports stars are also buying their way into the world of the NFT; Steph Curry, one of the best players in the NBA at the moment, has bought his first NFT with a purchase of a unique digital asset from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, which cost a rumoured $180,000 (£136,000). The one of a kind image of the blue ape is unique, much like those Digits coming to Ubisoft’s platform. They are tradable, unique and designed to create demand, raising their value.
Ubisoft’s project said to be an initial four-year project; it could well mean that new titles in their big IPs, such as Rainbow 6 Siege, are to feature them too. After all, R6S is a huge player in the world of eSports, so it could be the perfect platform for them to show off their unique designs and raise their NFT game even further.
