Electronic Arts changes its tune on NFTs

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The gaming industry seems to be going all out on non fungible tokens (NFT), with companies like Ubisoft and Square Enix bullish on the prospects of integrating them within games.

One company that seems to be backtracking a bit from its original stance on the matter is Electronic Arts (EA). The company CEO Andrew Wilson told investors in an earnings call that EA was currently evaluating NFTs, and would see the impact over time.

Wilson made it clear that NFTs were not a priority for now, but something for the future.

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So far, developers and publishers have seen a lot of pushback from players. GSC Game World, developers of the upcoming STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl, found themselves in hot water when they announced NFT integration for the game, and have since cancelled the idea.

Ubisoft Quartz is another example. The reaction to the trailer announcing the new NFT service from the company got so many dislikes that Ubisoft had to unlist the video from YouTube.

Worms publisher Team 17 announced and then immediately cancelled their plans when they saw backlash from not only players but other developers too, who believed that NFTs were not good for the environment.

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Talking about collectability in the earnings call, EA CEO Wilson said, "The way I look at this is, collectability is really built on four key metrics. That’s around high-quality content, it’s around scarcity, it’s around proof of authenticity, and it’s around a group of people that find value in that content.”

Wilson said that collectibles will be an important part of the industry but "whether that’s part of NFTs and the blockchain, well, that remains to be seen".