Blockchain and NFTs are divisive subject matters that have generated a lot of chatter within the gaming industry over the past year. Some companies, like Valve, are vehemently against the concept. On the other hand, others are all open to trying it out, like Ubisoft and Konami. Some companies have changed their minds about NFTs following fan backlash such as GSC Game World.
Following reports over the weekend that Activision Blizzard had sent surveys to select fans to gauge their interest in NFTs and play-to-earn gaming, among others, some thought that the publisher was jumping on the bandwagon.
As it turns out, this isn’t the case.
Blizzard’s president, Mike Ybarra, denied that the company is involved in this emerging gaming trend. Ybarra mentioned on Twitter that “No one is doing NFTs.” Unfortunately, Ybarra did not reply to subsequent tweets asking if Blizzard knew about the contents of the poll.
No one is doing NFTs.
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) April 17, 2022
Ybarra’s reply helps put fan concerns at ease but it doesn’t eliminate them.
Some are still expressing concern that Blizzard is gauging interest, suggesting that it is entertaining the idea enough to ask players about it. Activision Blizzard is already controversial enough as is and it’s hard not to think about its effect on company morale. It helps to hear some positive news like hiring QA testers full-time as Call of Duty moves away from its annual release schedule but that’s just one in a sea of complaints like the recent lawsuit filed by a sexually harassed female employee.
Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly what Blizzard has planned. However, the poll put a damper on what should have been an exciting new few days for Blizzard. Fans are looking forward to the official announcement of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Meanwhile, Overwatch 2 will go into beta on April 26.
