Square Enix Doubles Down On Its Blockchain Obsession
In its president's New Year Letter, Square Enix has gone hard on its obsession with the blockchain and NFTs, which has rattled gaming fans.
04th Jan 2023 10:38
Images via Square Enix
Square Enix Doubles Down On Its Blockchain Obsession
In its president's New Year Letter, Square Enix has gone hard on its obsession with the blockchain and NFTs, which has rattled gaming fans.
04th Jan 2023 10:38
Images via Square Enix
We've almost completely bullied the blockchain out of games. Thank the heavens for rude Twitter users.
The arrival and prompt disappearance of NFTs as a concept was agonising to watch, as more and more developers revealed themselves to fall into the idea of leeching more money from fans.
They didn't even reach the potential that was suggested to come with NFTs, and rather, just sold digital assets to capitalise on the trend. Particular offenders were Worms and Castlevania especially stumbling into the blockchain.
And, even though the swathes of cryptobros shuffling out of game dev studios, there's one company still adamant about making it work.
Square Enix Won't Give Up On Blockchain
Come on, guys, it's 2023. We were supposed to be done with this. In a recent New Year's letter from the company's president, Square Enix has proven that they're not willing to let go of the blockchain just yet.
"Blockchain has been an object of exhilaration and a source of turmoil, but with that in the rearview mirror, we hope that blockchain games will transition to a new stage of growth in 2023," says President Yosuke Matsuda.
He also claims that there are multiple blockchain games in development based on existing Square Enix IP. It'll certainly be interesting to see come to fruition, not only because it'll be fascinating to see how it all actually works, but because it'll be the only company doing it - but not in a good way.
Innovation is sacrificed for profitability on the blockchain, and it looks like Square Enix is keen to see it all the way through to the end.
Square Enix Thinks Decentralising Is 'Key'
Continuing to discuss the thought process behind this doubling-down, Matsuda says "As I said in last year's New Year's letter, if we consider traditional gaming to have been centralised, then blockchain gaming must operate based on a self-sustaining decentralised model.
"It is that concept, that philosophy that I see to be key." All of this comes after Square Enix defiantly said it doesn't care if you hate NFTs. As you can imagine, the Twitterverse has quickly turned on the developer and laughed it all the way into 2024.
It looks like Square Enix thinks they can step into a future that has already become a thing of the past. That is, until it's relentlessly bullied like everyone else who has attempted to get involved with the blockchain. Sic 'em, boys.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
