It feels sometimes like we can’t get away from NFTs whether it be them being used to sell expensive metaverse sneakers or getting their own event next month. As for gaming it has been constant and one organization is pledging for companies to use NFTs in games responsibility.
The group in question is environmental video game organization, Climate Replay, which is made up of mostly of Mojang developers. The online pledge was co-written by founder and Minecraft game designer, Cory Scheviak, and concept artist Mariana Salimena. On separate pages, questions were answered about why NFTs are problematic. It should be noted, that the guide emphasizes that its creation wasn’t contributed by a “large number of Mojang staff.”
“Most NFTs, and by consequence most forms of digital ownership, in their current state serve the exact opposite purpose — their value defined completely by artificial scarcity and speculation and powered by an unnecessary expenditure of physical resources,” the Climate Replay pledge says on its website.
“It is imperative for the health of the worldwide gaming community, planet, and society as a whole to ensure any adoption of blockchain-based technologies such as NFTs occurs only when they bring demonstrable value to games and their communities, and then in such a way that it considers all of the potential social and environmental impacts.”
Developers and publishers who decide to sign the pledge promise to use NFTs responsibly while meeting seven points that are listed below.
- Brings meaningful value to players
- Does not make use of technology that is intentionally inefficient, resulting in a concrete, significant environmental impact
- Does not embrace artificial scarcity to generate speculative value
- Does not rely on unregulated, volatile cryptocurrency
- Does not disproportionately benefit early adopters or wealthier users/players
- Does not perpetuate either of the following negative aspects of the Play-to-Earn model – Informal Jobs
- Shifts the primary purpose of a game from enjoyment to earning money
- Is implemented with transparency and takes seriously concerns from studio members
NFTs have been making headlines as of late, with publisher Team 17 and Troy Baker looking to get involved with the format and later backtracking following a backlash from fans. One of the few AAA publishers that is seemingly all in on the NFT camp is Ubisoft who introduced its version of NFTs, Digits back in December in the no longer update supported, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. The response to the move hasn’t been great for both fans and actual employees too. This week, according to VICE, the publisher celebrated the game more than two years after release by gifting 50 “developer caps,” employee-specific NFTs to its workers which one decided to sell theirs.
