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Ubisoft has announced the launch of Ubisoft Quartz, a new platform for it to integrate its own energy efficient version of near fungible tokens or NFTs into its games.
The system will debut in beta form within Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint on PC and will comprise of a certain number of cosmetic items. Each item is named a ‘Digit’ and will be stamped with a unique serial number. The record of who owns each item will be stored on blockchain, a technology independent from Ubisoft.
NFTs are pretty controversial, not least because of the potential impact on the environment and the planet. In an attempt to allay some of these worries, Ubisoft claim their versions will be ‘energy efficient’ as they use a specific blockchain called Tezos. According to Ubisoft, Tezos is “a blockchain running on a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, using exceedingly less energy to operate than Proof-of-Work blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.”
Ubisoft say Quartz is an experiment, and for now will only run in certain locations. The UK isn’t one of them, but the US, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Australia and Brazil are. They’ll also only be available to players who are over 18 years old. However, the company also says it intends to potentially continue the experiment in future titles.
As mentioned, NFTs are controversial, and, perhaps quite rightly, not everyone is a fan. Xbox’s own Phil Spencer has previously spoken to Axios that he’s wary of the technology. “What I’d say today on NFT, all up, is I think there’s a lot of speculation and experimentation that’s happening, and that some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment.”
The Ubisoft Quartz experiment kicks off on December 9 in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint for PC in selected regions. You can check out a trailer below.
