It Seems That Practically Nobody Is Using Ubisoft's NFT Platform At Launch

About two weeks ago, Ubisoft announced the creation of Ubisoft Quartz, a platform for the buying and selling of game-related NFTs, to a resounding chorus of mostly boos. It seems things have not improved since then.

One might think the intense backlash and PR hit Ubisoft took for getting into the NFT game, which was so bad they were forced to delist their video announcing Ubisoft Quartz on YouTube, could be worth it for them if they were able to make money in the cryptocurrency universe from the sale of NFTs. Unfortunately for Ubisoft, it looks like no one is using the platform.

Apex Legends character artist Liz Edwards investigated the activity of Ubisoft Quartz since it went live on December 9th. In the first 12 days of existing, it appeared that there were 15 sales on Ubisoft Quartz total, with 94 Tezos (the equivalent of $400) exchanging hands.

It's possible that Quartz's underwhelming launch is due to the highly limited scope of the experiment. Currently, Ubisoft Quartz is only useful for the trading of NFT merchandise, or "Digits," for the game Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which Kotaku joked has "only five players, give or take."

This has led to a situation where there are over 2,000 cosmetic upgrades for a relatively low-profile game sitting in a digital auction house awaiting bids that may never come.

One could also use this information to further the argument against the gaming industry getting into NFTs. Recently, GSC Game World was essentially browbeaten into recanting the inclusion of NFTs in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, as players voiced their extreme distaste for the crypto-generating proposal. That such a high-profile publisher is having issues getting their first foray into NFTs off the ground may be a warning sign for other developers and publishers toying with the idea of putting NFT items in their games.