Video game studios are abandoning the P2E model! The Play to Earn (P2E) system is one of the most important features of blockchain games today. If the latter is not yet well known to the public, they have already benefited from the attention of several players, including video game publishing studios.
Indeed, many video game development studios have expressed their interest and willingness to enter the cryptocurrency sector by creating blockchain-based games.
However, if at one time such claims had indeed taken place, we can actually see that the majority of major video game studios are revising this strategy downwards. This situation represents a real boon for the still-nascent industry of native P2E blockchain game developers to the cryptocurrency community.
The implementation of Play to Earn mechanisms in video games: More disadvantages than advantages
First of all, implementing an NFT function within a game can promote inequality between players. An inequality that, in the long run, will cause a divide in the gaming community as it will separate those who can afford high-priced NFTs from those who cannot.
While this argument was made by Minecraft developer Mojang Studio, it is also shared by several other mainstream game developers. For Mark Venturelli, developer of the hit game Relic Hunters, the use of NFT in a game can affect player enjoyment. According to him, NFTs have the potential to turn what was supposed to be a mere source of entertainment into a crude money-making device.
Moreover, for many figures in the gaming industry, there is not yet a meaningful use case for cryptos or NFTs that can add real value to games.
Several studies carried out over the past few months have determined that the video game industry as a whole does not attach particular importance to the Play to Earn system or to the GameFi mechanism at the present time.
According to an August survey by software consultancy Perforce, nearly 49% of 300 developers surveyed believe that NFTs have little or no impact on games.
The loss of interest of major publishers in the concept of Play to Earn blockchain games
The example of Take-Two Interactive is a perfect representation of the ambivalence that currently prevails within the video game industry.
Indeed, the studio in charge of the famous open-world game GTA acquired the mobile game developer Zynga for 11 billion dollars last January. Along with announcing the studio's acquisition, the publisher also said at the time that Zynga's blockchain ambitions played a role in its decision-making.
However, while it is true that Zynga announced in February that it intended to launch its first blockchain-related game later this year, there has been no news since either from Zynga or Take-Two Interactive.
In a similar vein, Square Enix announced the launch of a Final Fantasy-themed NFT collection in July 2022. An announcement came a few months after making statements about its aggressive efforts in research, development, and investment in the field of blockchain games.
A reluctance to invest not shared by everyone.
Although according to Bloomberg's report, major game studios have completely moved away from blockchain-based games, this is not exactly what is reflected in the real market. Indeed, when one takes the time to study recent news and developments within the video game industry, one quickly notices that the picture is much more mixed and even encouraging.
Indeed, not all major video game publishers have decided to abandon the project. Many are taking a closer look at NFTs and blockchain even now. Epic Games, publisher of the Fortnite online game, launched the very first NFT-based game on its official game store a few days ago: Blankos Block Party by Mythical Games.
Furthermore, the reluctance of major studios to renew their vows to invest in NFTs does not mean that they have completely abandoned their ideas of blockchain and Play to Earn. While it's true that Take-Two hasn't announced a single blockchain-based game, its CEO, Strauss Zelnick, has said in an official and public interview that his company will sooner or later.
For many analysts, the major game studios are adopting a passive policy while waiting for the market to stabilize to a certain level. They, therefore, intend to wait to see the future state of the sector before going further with their previously announced projects.
How is the reluctance of major game studios good for the crypto industry?
For several experts, the current situation between the video game industry and the cryptocurrency industry can only be beneficial for the crypto world. Indeed, the withdrawal of the majority of major developers may allow native cryptocurrency studios to develop their titles in a more organic way.
They will be able to produce content that will be much more in line with the spirit of cryptocurrency because they will not have external pressures from multinational corporations.
Only during this period will innovative projects like Tamadoge (whose pre-sale has just been successfully completed) and Battle Infinity will have the chance to develop in peace. Battle Infinity is also one of the most anticipated Play to Earn type cryptocurrency projects of the year 2022.
Without too much involvement from the major studios, the developers of this project will have all the space and time necessary to develop the virtual ecosystem that they aim to build after a few months.
In the absence of these development studios, independent cryptocurrency developers will have the opportunity to refine and evolve their products more slowly and steadily. They will also be better able to build a dialogue with their communities and take their feedback into account to further improve their production.
Options that will only be made possible if these independent developers are not forced to rush to compete with companies that are already listed on the stock exchange and have a larger fan base.
The Metaverse will certainly change the vision of video games in the future and perhaps the best thing to do is to let the cryptocurrency industry learn to develop on its own. Just as fashion could change thanks to the Metaverse.
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