EA takes a step back from NFTs following recent controversies

While EA previously sounded bullish about the idea of NFTs in gaming, the publisher appears to have taken a step back following a string of recent controversies.

During an earnings call this week, EA CEO, Andrew Wilson, was asked about future plans for NFTs and surprisingly, it seems EA is not as keen on them as we anticipated, with no immediate plans to get into the market.

“I believe that collectability will continue to be an important part of our industry and the games and the experiences that we offer our players”, Wilson said. “Whether that’s part of NFTs and the blockchain, well that remains to be seen. And I think the way we think about it is, we want to deliver the best possible player experience we can. And so, we’ll evaluate that over time, but right now it’s not something that we’re driving hard against.”

The statement comes at a time where EA is in some hot water with Battlefield plans due to the launch of 2042, which has now had its post-launch content plans delayed by months. Still, given a string of high-profile NFT-related controversies in gaming recently, it is a smart move.

In recent months, we've seen GSC GameWorld announce and scrap plans for NFTs for Stalker 2, Ubisoft is currently losing money on its push into NFTs, popular voice actor, Troy Baker, also recently dropped out of an NFT project and the developers behind Worms, Team17, also just scrapped its own plans for NFTs.

KitGuru Says: Several major publishers are monitoring the situation with NFTs in gaming, but so far, Ubisoft is the biggest advocate for it. That could change though, as if the market becomes successful, we will see others like EA looking to adopt blockchain technologies for better or worse.

Become a Patron!