Can NFT technology be used for good?
Off the Grid is the upcoming battle royale game from Gunzilla Games, and during a recent interview with the studio's CEO at Gamescom, we discussed the evolution of the battle royale genre and implementing NFTs correctly.
Gunzilla Games recently announced that it had completed a funding round that raised $46 million to "redefine the battle royale genre" with its upcoming free-to-play AAA battle royale game, Off the Grid, which will launch on Xbox Series X|S next year. We had a chance to speak with Gunzilla's CEO Vlad Korolev at Gamescom to discuss how blockchain and NFT technology could help shape the future of video games.
Gunzilla Games is confident that NFTs are the future of video games
NFT, or Non Fungible Token, is quite possibly one of the most contentious acronyms to appear within the video game space in recent years, or ever for that matter. We've seen many companies perform complete u-turns very soon after announcing their plans to introduce NFTs to their games due to player outrage, within 24 hours in some cases. What if NFTs were used in a sensible manner, though, with the aim of benefitting a game's community rather than lining the pockets of someone that's traded trash for people's hard-earned cash? Gunzilla's CEO and co-founder Vlad Korolev seems to think that the studio can do exactly that, and if it can, there is potential for Gunzilla to redefine not only games in the battle royale genre, but also the AAA live service model as a whole.
"We believe that when players invest their time, it's the same thing as paying for something because they pay us with their time, and they need to own what they pay for."
"From our point of view at Gunzilla, people mostly treat NFTs as a product where somebody sells stupid pictures for tons of money and then loses money," Korolev said. "For us? The definition of NFTs we can avoid completely. We do not sell any gimmick art; we're only using the technology." All of the assets in Off the Grid that can be found by players will be stored as NFTs on a decentralised blockchain server, but Korolev was quick to point out that it doesn't mean Gunzilla will "follow any misleading sales streams" and it will "never sell NFTs" to players.
Off the Grid will be completely free-to-play, and any player that doesn't want to partake in the buying or selling of in-game items is free to experience everything without ever spending a penny, while still having the same chance to find the same loot and items as the other players. Korolev assured us that players will never see the blockchain side of the game, nor will they be asked to provide any personal details, as everything will work in the background. The functionality is there only for players that want to use it.
"We're not a play-to-earn game; we're a traditional game that believes that NFT is the only technology that can allow us to build decentralised trading between players," Korolev said. "Imagine, every item you collect, some of them might be worth $20,000, $10,000, or whatever. They'll belong to you and nobody else, and you'll be able to control the asset or sell it on a third-party marketplace, and nobody could prevent you from doing it."
"That's what we at Gunzilla believe in, that this new progression and monetisation model will become very familiar and standard in games in the future," Korolev said. "We will be the very first title to open the doors for the rest of the gaming community."
Gunzilla is certainly painting a pretty picture with its plans to implement NFT and blockchain technology in Off the Grid, but as a AAA title heading to console, it's going to have a hard time winning over players to the formula. As it stands at the moment, many players are sceptical about the technology, and if Korolev has any hope for a successful uptake from players, Gunzilla will have to stand by its word that NFTs will never be forced upon the game's community or directly sold to them. After speaking with the Gunzilla CEO we're definitely intrigued to see how this plays out, and if what the studio is saying is indeed what will happen, Off the Grid could be the game to watch in 2023.
This same interview provided us with some insight into Off the Grid's gameplay, worldbuilding, and asset creation. The game itself sounds ambitious without the additional blockchain functionality, and it has the potential to be a great battle royale game for that alone.
What do you think about the use of blockchain in the upcoming battle royale game? Can NFTs be used for good, or should the industry leave them well enough alone? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think.
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