Square Enix, the Japanese game developer for the Final Fantasy franchise, has signed for being a node validator for blockchain gaming project Oasys with both of them also looking to collaborate for creation of blockchain games, as reported by Cointelegraph.
According to Cointelegraph, the announcement has reportedly come under criticism by certain cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) members of the gaming community, with them expressing their distaste towards the firm continuing to double down its emphasis on blockchain technology. Through a recent announcement, Oasys revealed that Square Enix had decided to be the project’s 21st node validator to take up the final space of initial validators. Furthermore, both the platforms aim to develop new games on Oasys’ EVM compatible proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, with the intentions to become a hub for Triple-A compatible games with play-to-earn (P2E) modifications.
On the basis of information by Cointelegraph, the traditional gaming community has not received Square Enix’s move well. “Square Enix Sets Its Dreaded NFT Plans In Motion By Partnering With Crypto Company,” The Gamer said. Through a tweet, gamer ShyVortex expressed his disgust towards the initiative, while eramaster12 questioned the motive behind the project. Square Enix has been looking to grow its blockchain-related plans in 2022.
Moreover, Cointelegraph noted that Yosuke Matsuda, president and CEO, Square Enix, stated through a New Year’s letter in January about showing his interest towards the plan of introducing blockchain-enabled tokenomics into games to incentivise both players and users who generate content to add the games. “With advances in token economies, users will be provided with explicit incentives, thereby resulting not only in greater consistency in their motivation, but also creating a tangible upside to their creative efforts,” Matsuda said. While blockchain is yet to be introduced into the Square Enix games ecosystem, the firm in July introduced tokenised character figures for $129.99, which features characters such as Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy.
(With insights from Cointelegraph)
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