By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 22nd, 2024
EA is expected to start supporting and eventually adopting blockchain and NFTs, as it earlier published some relevant job posts.
Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Arts (EA) Andrew Wilson recently spoke at an earnings call and said that Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and play-to-earn games are the gaming industry’s future. However, the prospective route is yet to be figured out.
The large-scale confirmation to NFT platforms and play-to-earn games seems to be on the horizon, as the impactful industry giants are backing the digital prowess of the crypto industry.
Electronic Arts, which is mostly known for its business-oriented ideas and schemes, generally uses the pay-to-win model in several games. This is the reason why it has not yet tested the waters of play-to-earn games. However, EA has sparked rumors about supporting and eventually adopting blockchain and NFTs, when a recent job posting from summer was disclosed to the media. The job listing included words like “NFT” and “Blockchain” in the descriptions, implying that the company is at least looking into the immense popularity of this genre of gaming.
Axie Infinity, an NFT-based online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, has shown how popular play-to-earn products can be. Axie Infinity is known for its solid play base if the product is well-refined. Players earn and gain in-game digital assets by completing tasks and quests, beating monsters, and competing with other players in the same virtual arena. The digital assets in these games have a real-life economical value and can be traded on crypto exchanges.
Electronic Arts is yet to formally introduce NFT and play-to-earn games, or blockchain space that has been on the rise for many years now. Play-to-earn games usually require players to pay an up-front cost through cryptocurrency to play the game and collect unique digitized tokens-the in-game items. These items can be elevated in value and be traded for other collectibles (or real-life money) to players. It is also not unusual for games to have input on the game’s development as their financial stake in it increases the game’s aggregate value.
Andrew Wilson also commented on the NFTs, mentioning that the collectible digital content will have a more insightful role in the company’s future if the products match synchronize with the Electronic Arts games and live services. On a closing note, the CEO claimed that while the company is in a good position currently, one must expect to think and create more innovatively in the upcoming future.
Assassin’s Creed, a 2017 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal, recently shared that it has plans to invest in and adopt Blockchain-centric gaming companies on the platform. Ubisoft, a French video games company headquartered in the Montreuil suburb of Paris, was also one of the participants in the Non-Fungible Token game developer Animoca Brands’ $65 million funding round.