Ubisoft launched on the sly Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chroniclesa video game based around NFT. The most expensive exceeds $50,000.
In December 2021, Ubisoft launched into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) by integrating unique cosmetic items into the video game Ghost Recon Breakpoint. The reaction was not long in coming, with players strongly condemning this initiative. Even internally, this strategy of the multinational was not well received at all.
These headwinds do not prevent Ubisoft from trying its luck again in 2024, with the launch of Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles on October 23. Its first real web3 game is defined as an action RPG with turn-based combat. Available only on PC, provided you have a compatible cryptocurrency wallet and have a Ubisoft Connect account, it is based around unique champions to collect (view Warhammer figurines). And which are therefore NFTs that can be resold on a dedicated market.
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Ubisoft is relaunching in NFTs in a difficult context
On the official website, you can discover a huge FAQ about Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles. Where we discover that each champion has unique characteristics. You can acquire them by crafting them in the game, using virtual currency (accumulated while playing) or with cryptocurrencies. It is also possible to buy them on a platform, with prices varying from $6 to… more than $55,000. Ubisoft also provides free characters, but with a very limited duration of use.
We quickly understand that the principle of Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles is based on pay-to-win, since the idea is to build the best team to win battles and climb the hierarchy (there is no solo or cooperative mode). The game can be downloaded for free, but you have to pay to compete with those who are willing to do so. By imagining that the $55,000 champion crushes everything in its path, the balance of the game is already questionable.
This new trial by Ubisoft appears difficult to justify both in view of the context around NFTs (which are no longer really popular) and the current health of the company. The French publisher is in a complicated situation after the disappointing launch of Star Wars Outlaws and the postponement ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows. The share price is very low (less than €14, compared to €27 a year ago) and, obviously, it is not NFTs that are going to save Ubisoft. It will also be noted that Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles was launched on the sly.
« Our goal is to explore new ways to play, and bring more value to players with empowerment and ownership. Champions Tactics offers deep strategic gameplay, with exciting innovations and unique assets. This includes millions of procedurally generated figurines, each with distinctive stats, qualities created according to player choices and an open market », Indicates François Bodson, director of the Ubisoft Paris studio, to IGN, October 29.
