Ubisoft Debuts Its NFT Game, Aiming to Benefit from the Cryptocurrency Scam Scene
Ubisoft hasn't given up on the potential return of NFTs like several other major publishers have recently. Their much-anticipated figurine brawler game, Champions Tactics Grimoria Chronicles, launched last week, and it's already encouraging deep-pocketed players to spend hundreds or even thousands on digital figurines for online battles. These NFTs, obtainable with in-game currency or cryptocurrency, are selling for prices ranging from $55 to a staggering $63,863.
Ubisoft first revealed Grimoria Chronicles in 2023, and it went through a closed beta session during the summer of 2024. Although the game technically debuted on Oct. 23, Ubisoft remained notably silent about it on its primary social media platforms, though it has been advertising it on its own Twitter. You won't find it advertised hugely on their website next to major releases like Star Wars: Outlaws and Assassin's Creed: Shadows.
Grimoria Chronicles is a turn-based game, allowing users to mint NFT figurines with standard stats and roles, such as "Tank" or "Damage." You can set up to three figures against an opponent's lineup and engage in the classic dance of taking turns kicking each other's figurines until one falls. Your figures gain experience and loot after each battle, so the cycle continues. It's like a simplified PVP version of Darkest Dungeon, but with more pressure to buy.
The game grants a few beginner figurines, but it encourages players to purchase more or "Forge" them, which also requires crypto investment. Essentially, this is another web3 game, following in the footsteps of the controversial "play to earn" game Axie Infinity. It runs on the Oasys blockchain. To play the game, you must sign up for a Ubisoft account.
As seen in live gameplay, this game includes critical hits and other RNG damage, but Ubisoft claims the game is not based on luck but skill. Players must strategically select their champions and master the ever-changing meta. However, the game's NFT marketplace is full of cheap figurines with low stats and few abilities. The difference between a $7 and a $150 champion can be as minimal as a few points in stats like "Vitality" or a slightly higher initiative. Considering this, the highly-priced $64,000 "Swift Zealot" figure does not seem worth its price, especially in the context of the game's dull-looking, repetitive battles.
In an interview with IGN, Ubisoft Paris studio director Francois Bodson said that the blockchain was implemented to enhance gaming experiences for users. He compared the game to a "physical trading card game" and stated they had future plans for the game.
Each figure in the game is procedurally generated using various pre-made assets, ensuring none are truly unique or possess personality. It seems like a cash grab, encouraging players to spend countless hours grinding or purchase figures for hundreds or thousands of dollars in hopes of later recovering their investment. This appears to be an unfair and unpopular vision of gaming that players have long since condemned.
Ubisoft is the sole studio yet to fully understand this sentiment. Last year, Sega's co-COO Shuji Utsumi expressed doubts about the NFTs, while Mojang and Valve have categorically rejected cryptocurrency support. Other notable projects in development, such as Ernest Cline's "metaverse" title, based on his geek-culture obsessed universe, are still proceeding with crypto integration.
Ubisoft has been on the NFT bandwagon for the last three years, but its efforts haven't led to substantial success. The company faced widespread criticism for attempting to integrate NFTs into Ghost Recon: Breakpoint in 2021. Rumors suggest Ubisoft only made a few hundred dollars through its Quartz platform by selling numbered helmets, pants, and guns. In 2022, Ubisoft abandoned its plans for more Quartz items in Wildlands and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint.
Ubisoft hopes to evade attention while players remain skeptical of digital currency in gaming. It's banking on the possibility of crypto making a comeback or that enough players will adopt it in the future. Cryptocurrency in gaming is essentially just a more sophisticated monetization strategy than microtransactions. Ubisoft's head of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, suggested in a 2022 interview that players would grow comfortable with not owning their games in the future. If anything is clear, buying a "one of a kind" digital figurine does not equate to additional ownership.
Ubisoft is actively exploring the use of technology and blockchain in their games, as demonstrated by their implementation in Grimoria Chronicles. Their future plans for the game include potential expansions and enhancements, as mentioned by Francois Bodson in an interview with IGN.
The future of gaming, according to Ubisoft's Philippe Tremblay, may involve a shift towards players not owning their games outright, with cryptocurrency serving as a monetization strategy beyond microtransactions. This could potentially make digital figurines like those in Grimoria Chronicles more valued and sought after.
