Epic Games Will Not ‘Interfere’ Game Developers, Is Open To NFTs?
- The CEO of Epic Games is definitely not against the concept of NFTs as per his recent comments on Minecraft’s exclusion of the tokens
- Tim Sweeney said that the stores and operating systems should not interfere with the game developers
Following Minecraft’s announcement on banning NFTs and crypto inside the game series, the American video gaming company Epic Games joins the hot discussion about whether mainstream video games should integrate blockchain-based virtual currencies.
Tim Sweeney, the CEO of the company and Fortnite founder, expressed his views on Twitter after receiving some requests to remove all games featuring NFT from the Epic Games store.
Sweeney showed his support for the NFT industry and said that the developers should be set free “to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them.”
“I believe stores and operating system makers shouldn’t interfere by forcing their own views onto others. We definitely won’t.”
He added.
This industry-wide debate, with massive participation from several big names, attracting the eyes of everyone in the NFT industry, is a result of the world’s best-selling video game, Minecraft’s recent update. On July 20, Minecraft announced updates in its guidelines to ban NFTs, citing their potential to create inequality among the players.
The post said NFTs’ digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion does not align with the company’s values of creative inclusion and togetherness.
Microsoft’s Mojang, which develops Minecraft, addressed creators and players who are “actively involved in the buying, selling, or trading of NFTs that make use of the game” to cite multiple risks associated with the game to develop and distribute NFTs, including frau and security issues.
Moreover, the game series also outlined concerns about NFTs distracting fans from gameplay to focus on investing and the potential of scams among sellers.
On the other hand, Epic Games announced its plans to enter the metaverse world with a $2 billion funding round led by Sony in April 2022.
“As we reimagine the future of entertainment and play, we need partners who share our vision. We have found this in our partnership with Sony and [LEGO Group parent company] KIRKBI.”
Sweeney stated at that time.
However, the Epic Games CEO’s stance on NFTs was not always positive. In September last year, he stated:
“We aren’t touching NFTs as the whole field is currently tangled up with an intractable mix of scams, interesting decentralized tech foundations, and scams.”
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
