Gaming Tactics: Square Enix Reveals Their NFT Project While Minecraft Rejects NFTs

An NFT plan has been drawn up publicly by Square Enix, a Japanese entertainment company and video game developer. But Minecraft, a computer game owned by Microsoft, banned non-fungible tokens (NFT) from being used on the platform.

An NFT is a type of blockchain technology that essentially acts as a unique receipt linked to the blockchain for any digital asset, such as a video, illustration or character model in a video game, etc. This receipt confirms the holder as the sole rightful owner of the asset.

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Minecraft released a blog post on July 20, announcing that NFTs and other blockchain commodities would not be supported by Mojang Studios or allowed in the game. Mojang Studios is the company that created the hugely popular sandbox game “Minecraft”.

They argue that virtual assets are extremely rare collectibles in nature, meaning that NFTs go against the game’s principles of cooperation and collaboration.

In the announcement, several problems Mojang had with NFTs were noted, including quality control, fraud, and NFTs being sold at inflated prices. Still, Mojang made it clear that the ban on NFTs was subject to change and that it would closely monitor progress in the field.

Meanwhile, Enjin, a platform for creating NFTs, and Square Enix have announced their partnership. A number of Final Fantasy VII-related NFTs are expected to be released by the partners.

To celebrate the game’s 25th anniversary, non-fungible tokens will be issued. In addition, NFTs are expected to be made available to buyers of the tangible collectibles launched to mark Final Fantasy’s anniversary on the cross-chain Efinity network.

Also, the action figure and trading cards have yet to have a finished design, and neither have their price tags.

Worldwide increase in NFT gaming adoption

NFTs gained widespread recognition in 2021 as the value of their respective markets skyrocketed due to the development of blockchain-based technology.

The functional potential of NFTs in digital economies is really best demonstrated by the gaming industry than by almost any other application. Like the play-to-earn (P2E) or GameFi model of gaming, which is still in its infancy, relies heavily on NFTs.

Exactly how much NFT and blockchain startups raised in the first half of 2022 was revealed in the new report from DrakeStar, a global technology investment bank.

According to the research, private blockchain/NFT gaming firms raised more than $2.2 billion, with early-stage companies raising more than half of the total. The three most active investors were Animoca Brands, Shima Capital and FTX.

On the other hand, i Finder’s NFT Gaming Adoption Reportwhich surveyed participants from 26 countries, Singapore came in sixth with a response rate of around 22.7%, indicating that the majority of respondents had played NFT games.

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The survey claims that India is the country where P2E games are most common, with 34% of participants reporting having played one. Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates have the second highest share of P2E players at 29% and 27% respectively.

Overall, 17% of men and 12% of women worldwide report having played NFT games, making men the more likely gender to report having done so.

                Featured image from Flickr, chart from Tradingview.com