Game Studio Blizzard Is Polling Players About Crypto and NFTs

Blizzard, the game studio that is part of Activision-Blizzard, began surveying some players about their use of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements. The survey, which targeted only some players, sparked rumors about the possibility of the company introducing some of these elements into its games. However, Mike Ibarra, head of the studio, denied such a possibility.

Blizzard is doing a sampling survey, including NFTs and “play-win” items

Blizzard, the game development studio that created such franchises as Starcraft, Warcraft and Overwatch, is surveying gamers for their opinions on NFT and the “play to earn” mechanics. According to social media sources, the survey asked players about questions that included other, more common gaming company topics, such as augmented reality and cloud gaming.

However, there was a section that directly asked the opinions and feelings of these users about the inclusion of NFT and cryptocurrency elements in some of the company’s game IP (intellectual property). While the survey did not explicitly mention the introduction of these mechanics into any game, it did raise concerns among some gamers about what it might be in development.

However, Blizzard head Mike Ybarra refuted this idea, saying:

No one is doing NFT.

NFT in the future

Blizzard fans were surprised by Ybarra’s response and the poll, finding the situation illogical. However, this poll may have something to do with the future of Activision Blizzard after the acquisition announced by Microsoft for nearly $69 billion in January.

A future owner of the company, if the purchase overcomes the legal hurdles it faces, may be interested in taking some Blizzard IP to experiment with them, which explains the existence of the research survey. However, there has been no articulate news on the origin of the survey.

NFT and the play-to-earn phenomenon have been the subject of heated debate among AAA franchise gamers, who have shown resistance to introducing these elements into traditional games. However, some companies have already incorporated them into their business plans and are even investing in companies working in this area.

One of the most pro-cryptocurrency companies is Ubisoft, which has already launched its own NFT marketplace called Quartz and supported Animoca Brands, the company behind The Sandbox, one of the most famous metaverse-based platforms. Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda also announced his support for these types of features, highlighting their benefits in a New Year’s letter.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons