Square Enix Wants to Pursue Blockchain and NFTs in Games

Last two years have been pretty eventful for gaming industry and for everyone else to say the least, with many highly-anticipated games getting delayed due to work restrictions for COVID-19 pandemic that had an effect worldwide.

As we leave 2021 behind and walk into a new one, people are looking forward to have a great year up ahead. Japanese video game giant Square Enix however, had a different idea and they begin 2022 with Metaverse, NFTs and more.

Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda wishes everyone a Happy New Year in a letter before he begins talking about Metaverse. He also adds how blockchain, extended reality (XR) technology and 5G present new business opportunities.

Given how much coverage blockchain technology and NFTs have received in 2021, Matsuda is very interested in these trends. He believes blockchain can enable games to self-sustain their growth by pushing a "play to earn" concept.

Yosuke Matsuda teases that Square Enix is keeping an eye on crypto-currency and may develop their own tokens in future. He believes majority of gamers only play to have fun and some play to contribute, thus making it more exciting.

Since traditional gaming offers no direct incentive to the latter group, letting them earn through in-game digital creations may give a new life to user-generated content and creative efforts will be rewarded to encourage them even more.

NFTs are basically non-interchangeable tokens that are stored in a digital blockchain for users to buy, sell or own these items. Despite criticism and a few controversies, Matsuda feels very enthusiastic about NFT-based digital goods.

Some big companies like French video game developer/publisher Ubisoft already announced to include NFTs in their games and faced immense backlash due to causing high carbon footprints but they are still willing to pursue it anyway.

Matsuda thinks that there is not too many notable user-generated content simply due to lack of incentives. UGC only existed until now because of artist's desire for self-expression and a token economy will only make people motivated.

Viable economies will be designed into Square Enix games, to self-sustain their growth through blockchain-based tokens. This would become a sort of ecosystem he referred as "decentralized gaming" and could be a huge gaming trend.

Aside from traditional games, integrating "decentralized gaming" into Square Enix portfolio will be a main business strategy in 2022. Matsuda is eager to see upcoming changes in this space as well as growing acceptance of crypto assets.

Classifying majority of gamers who "play to have fun" as a completely separate group of people only shows his marginalized viewpoint. Instead of propagating shady technologies, they should focus on delivering core gaming experiences.

Square Enix once made Final Fantasy VII, a fan-favorite classic about an evil mega-corporation draining the planet of its energy are now in support of embracing blockchain and NFTs, which contributes to lot more energy consumption.

Yosuke Matsuda writing such a ridiculous New Year's letter to fans doesn't resonate with them at all. Despite him claiming that Square Enix will continue to reflect on player-feedback on NFTs, many gamers find his promise hard to believe.