Conflicts are open and for now it’s hard to say whether management or employees will surrender first.
French video game publisher Ubisoft ((((UBSFY). Is in the process of measuring the fierce opposition of employees to the integration of blockchain technology, especially non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for video games developed by the group.
On February 10, Ubisoft sent employees a message explaining their position in the cryptocurrency industry, especially how the company intended to be part of the game. It is no exaggeration to say that the majority of employees received the message very badly.
Subject to anonymity, they immediately expressed their dissatisfaction in internal public comments, sources said.
“Seriously, handling harassment cases has already shaken our confidence in our business, and what is this now?” Commented one employee.
The group seemed surprised and did not expect such a violent negative reaction, even if there were signs of warning.
“Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab has received a lot of feedback. We have encouragement and concern in mind. How players can benefit is at the heart of our thinking.” , Spokesperson Jessica Roache told The Street. With an email statement. “At Ubisoft, we value these internal exchanges and believe they can help make our games and the company more powerful.”
If Ubisoft definitely reviews its copy, the video game publisher will not retreat and does not say that the company will abandon projects related to NFTs. Ubisoft, on the other hand, did not admit that internal conflicts were exposed in the media.
“Sharing confidential information, including internal forums, violates our employment contract and, more importantly, the confidence that team members are free to express themselves and engage in open and productive discussions. I will not comment any further based on that. “
Bloomberg was the first media outlet to report on the conflict between Ubisoft management and its employees over NFTs.
NFT, potential source of income
This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has faced employee anger over this issue. In December, when the company launched Quartz, a platform that introduces NFTs to one of its popular video games, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, player reactions are as much as those of its employees. It was negative.
These NFTs (referred to here as “numbers”) are available to players by paying in cryptocurrencies and are offered in the form of cosmetics such as virtual clothing that can be viewed by the owner. Within 24 hours, most of the video responses that accompany the launch were so negative that, as I wrote earlier, the number of dislikes is hidden on YouTube.
NFTs are unique certificates of ownership of digital files (codes, images, GIFs, videos, objects, and even video game characters). In the game world, it can be a character’s unique face or object. The reliability of NFTs is guaranteed by the blockchain on which these certificates of ownership are recorded.
Major studios see NFTs as a potential source of income. In video games, NFTs are primarily displayed in the form of accessories for equipping characters or in the form of loot. Ubisoft specifically provided numbered helmets, pants and guns at “Ghost Recon Breakpoint”.
However, some developers have joined the gamers, who oppose NFTs because they say they’ve already seen experiments with new revenue models such as microtransactions, loot boxes, and pay-to-win at the expense of gamers’ enjoyment. doing.
Would you like to buy a game on an NFT?
“Ubisoft’s naive and #NFT-inspiring executives prove that many executives don’t know what they’re talking about or what their developers are doing,” Twitter users said. He criticized sharply and summarized the social media reaction to Ubisoft’s project.
Another user is wondering, “Why does Ubisoft have to ruin everything?”
Other users claim to sanction the group by abandoning the product in order to get the publisher of the video game to hear their opinion.
“Given that Ubisofts is driving NFT, we chose to uninstall all Ubisoft products from Siege to Uplay / Ubisoft connect. We help developers not make this the future of entertainment. Please, “prompted the user.
At Reddit, users who are also gamers were just as angry. “If Ubisoft loves NFTs so much, they should start paying their executives and shareholders with them,” suggested one angry user.
Another asked Ubisoft if they could buy the game on NFT. “I didn’t think so … and the Ubisoft god knows why.”
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