Ubisoft has launched a new blockchain-based game called Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles that integrates non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies.
The crypto community has been baffled by the release, especially as it was not heavily promoted by the company.
The game is a strategic role-playing title that can be played for free. It requires gamers to engage with blockchain and web3 technologies and the theme allows them to assemble a team of three characters called champions that have unique attributes and abilities that can be used to take advantage of the enemy’s weaknesses to win matches.
The gameplay mechanics involve strategic dice rolls to determine combat order, followed by the selection of abilities that play out simultaneously until one team emerges victorious.
Ubisoft Has Said Little About the Game Almost a Week After Its Official Release
Champions Tactics was launched on October 23 but it is not featured on Ubisoft’s website and it wasn’t promoted via its social media accounts as usual either.
Three years ago, Ubisoft launched its NFT marketplace called Quartz. The company was criticized for launching a half-baked marketplace that did not demonstrate any sort of commitment to developing the web3 space or supporting the adoption of this type of digital asset. Unsurprisingly, it failed to attract a user base.
Back in 2022, the CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, commented that the firm was “still in research mode, I would say, when it comes to NFTs.”
“We really look at all the new technologies. We are very much on cloud, on the new generation of voxels, and we’re looking at all the Web3 capabilities,” he added.
“We tested a few things recently that are giving us more information on how it can be used and what we should do in the universe of video games. So we are testing ground with some games, and we’ll see if they really answer the players’ needs,” Guillemot asserted.
None of these comments showed that the company truly believed in the power of Web3. This is one of the reasons why the launch of this latest NFT game is a bit controverted as it appears that the company has no clear strategy when it comes to its plans concerning the blockchain space.
Champions Are Priced from $7 to $63,000
The Champions in Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles are not just in-game characters. They were created as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can be bought, sold, and exchanged as part of the game’s natural dynamics.
These digital assets live on the Oasys blockchain and players can acquire them by either forging them from existing champions or buying them via the Champions Tactics marketplace.
The range of prices is absolutely astounding. One champion is sold for as low as $7 while the most expensive character costs as much as $63,000. This ample gap is justified by various factors like stats, abilities, and their rarity.
Explore our marketplace where you can dive into each Champion’s unique traits and browse through a vast selection of listings.
Find your perfect Champion and build your ultimate team! 💪
Still searching for THAT Champion? Head to the marketplace now:https://t.co/LjPQe9kfwr pic.twitter.com/sQkcFjSGkN
— Champions Tactics (@ChampionsVerse) October 28, 2024
It appears that Ubisoft is attempting to give some of these characters “collectible” status to generate revenue and entice Web3 investors.
The company has opted to charge a 6% royalty fee for every transaction made in its marketplace to produce additional revenue from the game’s domestic economy.
Ubisoft has also created a VIP status for players who own the most valuable or the highest number of champions. This privileged status comes with multipliers for the experience points earned during the game and may also increase the player’s in-game rewards. The scheme seeks to incentivize a continuous financial investment into the game’s ecosystem.
Is This NFT Game a Cash Grab by Ubisoft?
According to Francois Bodson, studio director at Ubisoft Paris, the project is an innovative experiment that seeks to explore new gaming experiences. In a statement sent to IGN, he commented that the game was the result of a collaboration with the company’s Strategic Innovation Lab.
“The team inside the Ubisoft Paris studio developing Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles partnered with Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab and Oasys to ensure that our use of blockchain was done in service of delivering new and innovative gaming experiences for our players,” Bodson emphasized.
He also delved into the details of how Champions are created. They are primarily crafted from pre-existing assets, which ensures that any variations of the characters stay relatively close to the designers’ core model.
The game hasn’t been publicized much, perhaps because it would hurt Ubisoft’s reputation. The few critics who have seen the game are already calling it a shameless cash grab.
Most NFTs Are Worthless Now. Why is Ubisoft Launching an NFT Game Then?
Champion Tactics was released at a horrible time as the NFT market cratered over a year ago, losing most of its trading activity and volume. Researchers have suggested that approximately 95% of all NFTs issued are currently priced near zero.
Meanwhile, Ubisoft’s attempts to court Web3 gamers in the past have failed dramatically. For example, the Quartz marketplace reportedly generated just a few hundred dollars in revenue shortly after its launch.
This challenging environment reduces the odds of success for this new title and the fact that Ubisoft’s marketing efforts were so dismal emphasizes the perception that Ubisoft is setting the game up for failure.
Some believe that this is just a mere experiment. However, detractors claim that adding simple in-game characters with such elevated price tags for an experimental blockchain game is nothing more than a cash grab.
While many gaming companies like Sega, Mojang, and Valve have clearly distanced themselves from cryptocurrencies and NFT integrations, Ubisoft seems resolute to keep doing trials and errors their way to the Web3 space.
The gaming community’s response has not been particularly kind either as the game is being perceived as a cynical monetization strategy with the potential to create pay-to-win dynamics through the NFT marketplace.
The astronomical price of the “Swift Zealot” figurine – the one priced at $63,000 – has been scrutinized as an example of blockchain gaming’s excesses.
Ubisoft appears to address this concern, although not necessarily effectively, by offering players a few starter figures. They also maintain that success in the game depends solely on skill and not pure financial investment.