Ubisoft Employee Asks If Company Is Competing with EA for the Most Hated Game Studio amid NFT Push

Ubisoft recently unveiled its plans for a new engine that will allow players to create their own assets, which has led some of the developer’s critics to ask if Ubisoft is trying to compete with EA by creating games less fun and more into microtransactions.

Ubisoft image

Gamers aren’t the only ones who are unhappy with Ubisoft’s choice to put NFTs in their games. Several Ubisoft workers have expressed concern over the company’s NFT intentions, with one even asking whether their employer was “competing with EA for the title of’most despised gaming studio.’” Hundreds of workers spoke on an internal corporate message board about the contentious strategy, according to a paywalled story from Bloomberg that showed hundreds of employees posting on an internal company messaging board about the controversial tactic.

Another employee said that instead of its current approach, the corporation should return to “creating entertaining fantastic ground-breaking blockbusters.” Quartz was declared to sell NFTs by the game company, believing it had the tools to draw players, but it has since faced backlash from the gaming community. As a result, Ubisoft stated that the community simply does not understand the value of NFTs.

Ubisoft recently handed its workers a free commemorative NFT, as if to add insult to injury while plainly demonstrating that it doesn’t comprehend its own employees. During a question-and-answer session, staff were informed that they will be given one for free through the Quartz platform. Obviously, the offer was not well accepted, as one employee described working at Ubisoft as a “very uncomfortable day.”

Management hasn’t been pleased with all of the unwanted attention and news coverage. It issued its own statement in response to all of the stolen exchanges.

The question of how gamers may profit is and will always remain at the forefront of our minds. We cherish these internal discussions at Ubisoft because we believe they help us improve our games and our organization. Sharing confidential information, including that obtained from internal forums, is, however, a violation of our employment agreement and, more importantly, a violation of the trust that team members place in one another to be able to freely express themselves and engage in candid, productive discussions. -Ubisoft

It’s unclear if Ubisoft’s management, which has clearly invested extensively in blockchain technology, will fully comprehend the implications of this Pandora’s box. As they traverse these uncharted seas, reminding staff of confidentiality obligations may simply be the tip of the NFT iceberg.

KitGuru is the source of this information (1, 2)