Andrew Wilson, the CEO of EA, has described NFT and blockchain games as “the future of our industry” in a recent earnings call [via PC Gamer].
The NFT and blockchain space has been heating up in the games industry this week. It was only a few days ago that Ubisoft expressed an interest in the technology. Like Ubisoft, EA says that it’s in the early stages of researching the technology, but reckons that it will “play a meaningful part in our future”.
Blockchain technology is a database system that directly ties into cryptocurrency. It’s also related to NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which are unique digital items that you can buy and sell using cryptocurrency. NFTs can be anything from a gif to a music file, or even a video game. There are plenty of resources out there that explain why this relatively new technology is extremely bad for the environment. The energy required to mine the cryptocurrency that the whole system relies upon exceeds some countries’ annual usage entirely.
What does it all mean?
So how does EA see this being used in its video games? Wilson explains: “I think that in the context of the games we create and the live services that we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a meaningful part in our future.
“So, it’s still early to tell, but I think we’re in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more innovatively and creatively about that on a go-forward basis.”
The way that some “play-to-earn” games work is that players earn unique items while playing games purchased using cryptocurrency. Those in-game items can then be traded with other players, potentially for a profit as the value of the market fluctuates. Think of it like trading digital items on the Steam Marketplace, except your M4A1 skin is an NFT and probably caused an acre of rainforest to burn in the process.
Not all of the gaming industry is as quick to embrace crypto as EA and Ubisoft. Steam recently put out a ban on NFT, crypto and blockchain games from its service. Still, other publishers are convinced that it’s the future of the industry. Some job listings for high profile positions at EA now mention NFTs and blockchain directly in the job description.
What do you think about EA researching NFT and blockchain games? Let us know across our social channels.
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[Featured Image Credit: EA/Blockchain]