Last week, NFT fans learned the disappointing news that Minecraft has banned NFTs on its servers and publicly disavowed third-party NFTs based on its features. The reason for this, the company said, was to discourage NFTs from being sold at inflated prices and their speculative nature taking away from the gaming experience.
Luckily, it seems that other major gaming projects might be interested in NFTs after all. Around the same time that Minecraft made its announcement, Square Enix, a Japanese game publisher, announced a partnership with blockchain gaming firm Enjin. This partnership will see the company release NFTs for one of its most famous titles, the Final Fantasy series.
Final Fantasy Enters the Metaverse
As per the announcement, the NFTs will be created for the Final Fantasy VII game to commemorate the original game’s 25th anniversary. As such, the NFTs will be tied to physical action figures and physical trading cards, the first batch of which will be released in the Spring of 2023.
Each pack of the trading cards, which will reportedly sell for $4, will come with a code to redeem a digital trading card minted by Enjin. Later in 2023, an action figure of the game character Cloud Strife will be released that will also come with a redeemable NFT. For those who buy the standard action figure, the NFT will be a certificate of authenticity. Those who buy the Digital Plus Edition will get a digital replica of the action figure as well.
Along with the announcement of the NFTs, the management of Enjin has explained that this partnership is not only a way to give something special to the fans but acts as a means of driving blockchain adoption.
“This partnership marks a coming-of-age phase for digital assets and entertainment; Square Enix, an esteemed developer with iconic intellectual property, is paving the way for the industry. By using Efinity, fans can experience interactive NFTs without even realising they’re on the blockchain. Enjin can establish the next phase of growth in blockchain entertainment, merging curiosity and creativity,” says Enjin exec Witek Radomski.
The action figures are now available for pre-order and since the announcement of the NFTs was made, there have been mixed responses from the gaming sector. It seems we’ll have to wait till next year to see whether or not fans are willing to spend money on this new endeavour.
The Mixed Responses of Gaming Fans to NFTs
At this point, it is clear that there is no unanimous stance on NFTs within the gaming community. While some love NFTs, others do not and applauded Minecraft’s decision to ban them. Some of the common concerns include NFTs’ potential impact on the environment (Enjin has reiterated that it uses the energy-efficient Polkadot blockchain) and simply not understanding them as a concept.
Companies like Square Enix seem to be pushing on and pursuing NFTs within their projects despite the criticism but only time will tell if NFTs will have a long-term place in gaming.
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