No matter how many complaints are made on social media and elsewhere, gaming companies of all sizes are exploring and starting NFT initiatives. The latest to pitch in is Team17, the sizeable UK-based publisher and developer that releases a number of Indie-style games and has some iconic IPs of its own. Arguably its most famous brand is being utilised for an NFT promotion – Worms.
The initiative will be called MetaWorms, which has a limited official website and Discord server so far. The actual NFTs and sales will start ‘later this year’, with items that’ll apparently span the 26 year history of the franchise. Team17 is partnering with Reality Gaming Group on the project, with the press release at pains to emphasize low energy consumption for ‘minting’ the NFTs, and stating that ‘a percentage’ of sales will go to ReFeed Farms; that’s an organisation that encourages and supports the use of worms in farming in place of synthetic fertilisers.
No significant details have been shared as yet on the upcoming sale, such as what marketplace will be used for trading, what currencies will be applicable – likely a cryptocurrency for the initial trades – and so on.
There’s a creeping inevitability to more gaming companies dipping into this market as opportunities for profits are explored. The preoccupation of the debate around environmental concerns also raises the possibility that companies will simply cite eco-friendly / low power consumption solutions to ward off criticism. The issues and debates around NFTs are (and should be) more complex and varied than that one area of concern. We attempted to look at the broader picture in the article below.
It’ll be interesting to see which other companies explore NFTs, and also which notably do not.
