Epic Games will not ban NFTs in games and will not follow Minecraft’s developers, says founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Minecraft developers Mojang Studios, on July 20, banned NFT integrations. It believes NFTs, their scarcity, and the risks of exclusion and scams associated with them are against the game’s principles.
Minecraft’s decision was met with praise by the cohort of crypto-skeptic gamers, but it was seen as highly controversial in the NFT community. Sweeney said Epic Games, the creator of a widely successful battle royal game Fortnite, said they aren’t looking to enforce any views on the subject on its users. He believes developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and users are free to decide whether they want to play them or not. The CEO highlighted that stores and operating system makers shouldn’t interfere by forcing their views onto others. He said Epic Games will not do such a thing. Sweeney said a store could choose to make no such judgments and host anything that’s legal or choose to draw the line at mainstream acceptable norms or accept only games that meet the owner’s personal beliefs.
Taking a stand to ban NFTs, Minecraft said it remains a community where everyone has access to the same content. It highlighted that NFTs can create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with the platform’s guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft. In an effort to ensure that its players have a safe and inclusive experience, it doesn’t allow blockchain technologies to be integrated inside the client and server applications. The same can be seen in Minecraft in-game content such as worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods, which be utilized by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset.
Moreover, Minecraft outlined that the speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering. The platform thinks this is inconsistent with the long-term joy and success of its gamers.
