French Video Games Giants Ubisoft strongly believes that the metaverse is the next step in gaming and that’s why they’re doing various experiments with gaming NFTs in The Sandbox metaverse despite player backlash.
What is Ubisoft?
Ubisoft Entertainment SA is a French video game company headquartered in Montreuil with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, For Honor, Just Dance, Prince of Persia, Rabbids, Rayman, Tom Clancy’s, and Watch Dogs.
Ubisoft has teamed up with the Sandbox metaverse platform in the latest sign of the fusion between game development and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based blockchain company behind The Sandbox, said that it formed a strategic partnership with the Paris-listed company, where Ubisoft would receive its own land in the metaverse and develop game experiences with NFTs in the virtual world.
Ubisoft’s move reflects a broader trend of traditional gaming giants looking to sell player items in the metaverse in the form of NFTs, blockchain-powered vouchers used to prove ownership of digital assets.
However, gamers are grappling with NFTs’ place in video games, with some pushing back because they believe it represents a new form of monetisation which could be predatory, or even ruin the game experience if abused.
Ubisoft Entertainment SA can remain independent amid the wave of consolidation that is sweeping through the videogame industry, and is ready to cash in on any opportunities that emerge from the development of the metaverse, Chief Executive Yves Guillemot said.
The maker of the “Assassin’s Creed” videogame series has been watching from the sidelines as rivals have engaged in a flurry of deal-making over the last few weeks that has been a sign of the confidence in gaming’s potential as companies race to build the metaverse-a virtual world in which users can play, work and shop across different platforms using digital avatars.
Meanwhile, the company has been experimenting with other gameplay experiences alongside its dabbling in a metaverse experience. It was one of the first AAA game publishers to announce its own NFTs. It rolled these non-fungible tokens (NFTs), called Digits, out to Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
The Sandbox, on the other hand, is an online metaverse platform that lets anyone purchase LAND plots sold as NFTs. Users can then build interactive experiences atop that digital land, and even monetise the land by charging money to access games and spaces, or by renting out owned land to other builders. Players can also buy and sell NFTs, as well as utilise external NFT assets.