Ethereum: Ubisoft wants to introduce the blockchain in his games

As reported by the magazine Les Echos, citing insiders, developers of Ubisoft are in an “advanced stage” to develop blockchain capabilities for the publisher’s games. Specifically, this is about a virtual marketplace based on the Ethereum Blockchain. In-game micro-transactions, such as new items, weapons, outfits or cards, could be acquired in the future directly via blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.

Paying microtransactions with the Ethereum Blockchain

The fact that Ubisoft is venturing this venture is only surprising at first glance. The world’s fourth largest games publisher, best known for its blockbusters such as “Assassin’s Creed” or “Far Cry”, has long relied on extensive microtransactions to generate additional revenue for its games – earning a lot of money. The Blockchain is ideal for trading in digital goods and could be the next logical step to facilitate the processing of micro-transactions.

Ubisoft has been very open to the new technology in the past. At the ChinaJoy digital entertainment show, CEO Yves Guillemot said in 2018 that the blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry. Cryptocurrencies allow players to create content and sell it securely to other players. The players would thus almost become shareholders of Ubisoft and would be even better integrated into the ecosystem of the publisher.

Blockchain is the next revolution in the gaming industry

As reported by the magazine Les Echo, citing insiders, developers of Ubisoft are in an “advanced stage” to develop blockchain capabilities for the publisher’s games. Specifically, this is about a virtual marketplace based on the Ethereum Blockchain. In-game micro-transactions, such as new items, weapons, outfits or cards, could be acquired in the future directly via blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.

Paying microtransactions with the Ethereum Blockchain

The fact that Ubisoft is venturing this venture is only surprising at first glance. The world’s fourth largest games publisher, best known for its blockbusters such as “Assassin’s Creed” or “Far Cry”, has long relied on extensive microtransactions to generate additional revenue for its games – earning a lot of money. The Blockchain is ideal for trading in digital goods and could be the next logical step to facilitate the processing of micro-transactions.

Ubisoft has been very open to the new technology in the past. At the ChinaJoy digital entertainment show, CEO Yves Guillemot said in 2018 that the blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry. Cryptocurrencies allow players to create content and sell it securely to other players. The players would thus almost become shareholders of Ubisoft and would be even better integrated into the ecosystem of the publisher.
Ubisoft: “Blockchain is the next revolution in the gaming industry”

The developers of Ubisoft experiment since mid-2018 with concrete applications of blockchain. In September 2018, the company hosted the Hackathon Blockchain Heroes. Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab developed the prototype of a blockchain-based game called “Hashcraft”. Anne Puck, Blockchain manager at Ubisoft, said back then that the blockchain is “the biggest revolution since the Internet”. The aim of Ubisoft is to create tangible benefits for the players.

It remains to be seen how Ubisoft’s plans for the blockchain marketplace will continue. One possible obstacle is the current limit of concurrent transactions in the Ethereum Blockchain. Especially for extremely popular titles such as the Assassin’s Creed series Ubisoft could thus quickly reach the limits of the technically possible.

Another problem is the still unclear legal situation of cryptocurrencies. In April, the French government passed the investment law PACTE. However, many questions remain unanswered afterwards – and a single regulatory framework is still a long way off in the EU.

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