While some companies double the lucrative scam behind NFTs, others try to ward off any association right from the start. After an Activision Blizzard survey went out and asked players about their interest in blockchain technology, Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra was quick to shoot down speculation about whether the studio would put NFTs in upcoming games.
“No one makes NFTs,” the recently promoted leader of Blizzard tweeted in the weekend. The statement came after the announcement of a survey that measured players’ interest in NFTs, started doing the rounds online and was intercepted by various game news sites. The study was compiled by the market analysis firm YouGov apparently on behalf of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard, asked players for their opinion on other recent trends, including Game Pass and “Metaverse gaming experiences.”
“The company regularly conducts surveys on a wide range of new topics to better learn about our players’ interests, regardless of our involvement in such trends,” said a Blizzard representative. Kotaku.
Buzz phrases like metaverse, NFT and play-to-earn all go hand in hand and have been embraced by investors with big pockets, while many players have rebelled against them. Gaming companies are similarly divided. Publishers like Ubisoft and Square Enix are optimistic about the future of blockchain games while they like it EA and Tag-To has been shown to have a more wait-and-see approach.
But even though Ybarra’s comments put Blizzard strictly in the “no” camp, not everyone believes in him. His tweet‘s responses are full of skeptical Blizzard fans, in part because of the company’s own past. World of Warcraft helped lay the groundwork for cosmetics in live service games, and Diablo III infamous launched with a fully functioning auction house. The experiment was a disaster and short-livedbut this is now basically what a number of companies chasing NFTs seem to want to recreate.
Blizzard confirmed that the dreaded auction house will not return with Diablo IVbut the company has clung to some other dying trends. Overwatch is especially one of the few remaining games who still have loot boxesand they will probably be a part of Overwatch 2 as well. So it’s not hard to imagine how NFTs can play a role in that.
At the same time, Activision Blizzard will soon be part of Microsoft, awaiting final sign-off from investors and regulators, and the Xbox maker has kept its distance from the blockchain barrel, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer calling the latest examples. exploitative “. . “However, he did not close the door completely, Narrator Axios in an interview last year that people are still figuring out the NFTs.