Ubisoft has a history of experimenting with non-fungible tokens in games, and the company intends to continue exploring the NFT gaming space with the new release. The Paris-based publisher behind hit triple-decker titles like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry launched Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, a new free-to-play turn-based role-playing game with NFT integration, on Wednesday. The competitive multiplayer game combines traditional gaming and Web3 elements in Ubisoft’s PC player network. Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles is now available to download via the Ubisoft Connect launcher.
Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles is a multiplayer tactical RPG set in the dark fantasy world of Grimoria. In the NFT-integrated game, players create teams of digital collectible “Champions” that have unique abilities. With their champions, players can engage in strategic turn-based battles against other players online. Champions are NFTs and therefore can be sold or traded on the market. Players can also combine two existing champions to create a new one by paying a creation fee.
“Champions are magical game pieces in the dark world of Grimoria. Each is a living relic, an intricate embodiment of Grimoria’s history, a testament to the legendary Champions who once shaped its destiny,” the game’s official website says, explaining the game’s gist.
To access the game, players must have an active Ubisoft account, be at least 18 years old, and have a supported Blockchain wallet such as Metamask or Sequence.
Ubisoft said there are 75,000 NFT “Champions” available at launch. These NFTs can be minted on Oasys’ gaming-oriented public blockchain network, which relies on a proof-of-stake consensus protocol.
The Champion NFT characters are priced starting at $6.33 USD (roughly Rs. 532) per OAS – the native token of the Oasys blockchain – on the game’s official marketplace. Ranked #340 on CoinMarketCap’s crypto index, the OAS token is currently trading at $0.03582 (roughly Rs. 3.01).
Players can invest in NFT Champion characters and use them in the game’s ranked mode to earn rewards. As mentioned earlier, using the game’s Forge system, two existing NFT champions can be combined to create a new character with special abilities that will aid players in battle. According to Ubisoft, crafting fees can be paid in gold, in-game currency, or cryptocurrency ($OAS).
Champions Tactics was introduced in 2023 and received closed and open beta versions earlier this year before the official launch on October 23rd. The free-to-play PvP game is only available on PC via Ubisoft Connect.
This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has been involved in NFTs. In 2021, the game maker launched the Ubisoft Quartz platform so that players can buy Digits. These in-game NFTs were launched in beta with Ghost Recon Breakpoint. After backlash from players and limited interest, the company announced that it would be winding down Quartz Digits in 2022.
NFTs are blockchain-based digital collectibles that often carry underlying monetary benefits, trade value, and rewards and special benefits in gaming ecosystems. However, the push to implement NFT monetization in games has drawn widespread criticism from gamers. However, several game publishers have attempted to integrate NFT into their titles.
According to Global Markets Insights, the global gaming NFT market was valued at $2.76 billion (approximately Rs. 23,204 crore) in 2023 and is estimated to grow by more than 60 percent between 2024 and 2032.
A separate report by Fortune Business Insights last year projected the blockchain gaming market to grow to $614 billion (roughly Rs. 51,07,086 crore) over the next seven years to 2030.
Although in-game NFTs have faced backlash in the gaming community, Web3 Games allows insider trading of game-related NFTs that promise players passive income. Data on sales of in-game assets showed a growth of 21.8 percent between 2017 and 2021.
In April of this year, Samsung joined forces with Wilder World Metaverse Game to offer NFT rewards as part of its Web3 TV package.