Ubisoft will add NFT items into its games, starting with Ghost Recon Breakpoint on the Tezos blockchain, becoming the first major gaming company to do so

Decrypt 2021-12-08 Andrew Hayward

Context & Ripple Effects

Ubisoft had already been extending its franchises into new formats through its early virtual-reality plans. Its Tezos rollout turns that experimentation toward digital game items, a direction Ubisoft later pursued with its PC blockchain game Champions Tactics.

First-order effects

Ghost Recon Breakpoint players gain NFT items on Tezos, while Ubisoft becomes the first major game publisher in the supplied coverage to attach blockchain assets to an existing game.
Tezos gains a prominent game deployment and the visibility that comes with Ubisoft bringing NFT items to a live franchise.

Second-order effects

Ubisoft's move raises pressure on other publishers evaluating blockchain games; Square Enix soon publicly signaled its own plan to pursue blockchain games and NFTs.
Game-item marketplaces become a more central product consideration for publishers that follow Ubisoft, because blockchain items introduce an external ownership and trading layer alongside in-game inventories.

Third-order effects

If major publishers continue putting blockchain items into established franchises, game monetization may shift from closed, publisher-controlled inventories toward systems that also have to manage transferable digital assets.
The later launch of Champions Tactics indicates Ubisoft's NFT experiment was part of a broader blockchain-games track rather than a one-off franchise feature.

The trend: Large game publishers are testing blockchain as an additional layer for game items and new game products, rather than limiting it to standalone crypto-native projects.

Discussion

@ubisoft @ubisoft on x
Introducing Ubisoft Quartz 💎 We're bringing the first energy efficient NFTs playable in a AAA game to Ghost Recon: Breakpoint! Try it in the beta from December 9 with three free cosmetic drops and learn more here: https://quartz.ubisoft.com/ https://twitter.com/...
@innesmck @innesmck on x
congrats nft bros on ubisoft making the exact same microtransactions but now with artificial scarcity just like you asked for some reason https://twitter.com/...
@tezos @tezos on x
.@Ubisoft Quartz is built on @Tezos, an energy-efficient and self-upgradable Proof of Stake blockchain. Learn more at https://tezos.com/carbon/ #Tezos #CleanNFT #BlockchainEvolved https://twitter.com/...
@futterish Mike Futter on x
Ubisoft's NFT push is just the Steam Marketplace. It could do this with a database. It has chosen to use the NFT grift.
@mitchyd Mitch Dyer on x
Why are Ubisoft's NFTs better for your gaming experience? Well, they say it right here. - Item has number on it - Number belongs to you - Until you sell it to someone else In @Ubisoft's own words, their NFTS literally add nothing to the actual gaming experience. https://twitter.c…
@dippizuka Alex Walker on x
So Ubisoft basically has its own secondary market like Steam, or at least that's the angle. But with NFTs. https://twitter.com/...
@genepark Gene Park on x
I called Ghost Recon Breakpoint “the worst game of 2019” and it's about to go for a 2021 repeat https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@sayemahmd @sayemahmd on x
this is the dark and terrible path tf2 hats put us into https://twitter.com/...
@kevinlasean Kevin LaSean on x
Its getting real out here 👀 https://twitter.com/...
@ohnorosco Ross Miller on x
Here. We. Go. Ubisoft now the 1st major game company to experiment with NFTs Big win for Tezos, a proof-of-stake blockchain that's reportedly way more energy efficient BTC. Will be very curious to see if other gaming studios lean toward Tezos now https://decrypt.co/...
@briannawu Brianna Wu on x
The Money Men have fundamentally compromised good game design in modern AAA games. It's not about designing the best game anymore. It's about creating an experience they can monetize. There's no benefit to players in NFTs. It's just another revenue stream. https://twitter.com/...
@daveweigel David Weigel on x
A cash grab from Ubisoft, selling useless crap? Now I've seen everything! https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x
Ubisoft is now officially selling NFTs https://www.youtube.com/...
@tezos @tezos on x
In-game #NFTs are here, and they are built on #Tezos. @ubisoft has chosen to build Ubisoft Quartz on the scalable and energy-efficient @Tezos blockchain. Find out more about the first major gaming company to launch in-game NFTs: https://decrypt.co/... https://twitter.com/...
@chrisbratt Chris Bratt on x
The next question, then, is why does this actually need to happen on the blockchain at all? That's not entirely clear to me at the moment. But hey, I'm just happy it's not Proof of Work, like the one being used by Ubisoft's ongoing partner, Sorare: https://www.youtube.com/...
@chrisbratt Chris Bratt on x
Whelp, there it is. Ubisoft to sell “energy-efficient” NTFs in Ghost Recon Breakpoint. https://twitter.com/...
@nftyq @nftyq on x
.@Ubisoft has been quietly at the forefront of the #NFT gaming space for a while now, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they're the first to implement NFTs into a AAA game like Ghost Recon. That being said... The fact that this is happening in 2021 is absolutely WILD 🤯
@chrisbratt Chris Bratt on x
For those that watched our video back in May, I should point out that due to this being handled via a Proof Of Stake blockchain, the energy cost per transaction here claims to be something like 1.5 MILLION more times efficient than if it were running on the Ethereum blockchain.
@joshbusker Josh Busker on x
Props to Ubisoft for putting out a trailer that shows how NFT's will be useless and just an extra way for companies to make money grafted onto their old games, instead of just putting out the generic “we are excited for the possibilities” statement every other publisher has done.…
@alexhern Alex Hern on x
To give them credit, this is absolutely the best way to do in-game NFTs. It's just... absolutely pointless and adds literally nothing over the same basic tools that already exist in, for instance, the Counter-Strike skin marketplace https://twitter.com/...
@alexhern Alex Hern on x
Literally what is the point in using the blockchain to track ownership of cosmetic items that are only usable in a single game. Why do you need that to be decentralised in any way
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
You don't need a blockchain when you're a private company that has a captive audience, owns & validates its own database of hashes, and controls fiat transfer in/out. That's just a regular old in-game marketplace, plus timed exclusivity & owner history 😂 ‘NFT’ is the buzzword htt…

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