EA CEO Says NFTs and Blockchain Games Are The “Future Of Our Industry” And That He’s Unsure Of How That’s Going To Work

Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, recently stated that blockchain and non-fungible tokens are the future for the video games industry in a company earnings call. He also said he’s unsure of how. 

The following news is from PC Gamer, which reported on Wilson’s NFT-related statement during the earnings call. In a bit of a cart before the horse situation, Wilson made the bold claim that NFTs and “play-to-earn” games, aka blockchain games, are the “future of our industry” before adding that “it’s still too early to figure out how that’s going to work.” With that being said, it’s unclear what makes him so sure. 

“I think that in the context of games we create and the live services that we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a meaningful part in our future,” Wilson said, according to PC Gamer. “So, it’s still early to tell, but I think we’re in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more innovatively and creatively about that on a go-forward basis.” 

Oddly enough, considering Wilson’s comments, EA hasn’t revealed any official plans for NFTs or blockchain games. However, that hasn’t stopped other industry giants from doing so. This week was earlier. Ubisoft revealed that they plan to create blockchain games and NFTs.It is. The company also announced that they plan to use play-to earn techniques that enable players to gain digital content by playing Ubisoft gaming games. 

Blockchain games and NFTs have drawn heavy criticism in the industry thus far due to their part in ongoing environmental damage. The use of cryptocurrencies, which are often used to purchase NFTs, and the mining of said currencies results in millions of carbon dioxide emissions, damaging Earth’s atmosphere, as reported by The Verge 

Major players are now doing the exact opposite to Ubisoft or EA by banning NFTs and other blockchain-based games. Steam recently said it will not allow developers to publish “Blockchain-based applications that allow or issue cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or other digital currencies through exchange or transaction are built with blockchain technology.” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney similarly criticized NFTs. However one month later, he revealed that the Epic Games Store is fine working with developers using blockchain technologies in response to Steam’s ban. 

At the moment, the use of cryptocurrencies is largely viewed as harmful to the planet. Ethereum, one of the most-used cryptocurrencies, though, is working on something it calls “The Merge,” which it says will “Start the new era of an eco-friendly, more sustainable Ethereum.” Only time will tell how green Ethereum becomes. EA appears to be committed to NFTs, blockchain games and other technologies in its immediate future.

[Source: PC Gamer]