Ubisoft. Might & Magic. NFTs. Three little words that when strung together prompt a range of responses from slight intrigue to full-blown internet rage. Now the gaming behemoth is making another splash into the blockchain realm with Might & Magic Fates. This upcoming awesome trading card game on Immutable blockchain has a huge potential to bring you unforgettable adventures! After previous NFT ventures crashed and burned, are they truly listening to gamers, or are they so convinced of a Web3 future that they're willing to ignore the present?

NFTs: New Dawn or Digital Snake Oil?

NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are basically digital proof of ownership that exists on a blockchain. Consider them as secure digital certificates, each one with its own unique code. Development studio Muse Games touts that Might & Magic Fates allows players to really own their cards. You can freely trade them and profit from your digital assets! Sounds appealing, right? Especially when they claim the "Web3 layer that unlocks digital ownership" is optional.

Many gamers see NFTs not as a path to digital ownership, but as a thinly veiled attempt to inject speculative finance into their hobby. Delivering on the empty promise of “optional” Web3 features is as misleading as selling a “mostly harmless” venomous snake. Much of this risk, though still present, is no longer imposed on you by default.

The track record of NFTs in gaming is…checkered at best. Remember Ubisoft Quartz? Exactly. It's a cautionary tale of a company pushing a technology that its audience simply didn't want. It was a classic case of a solution looking for a problem, and gamers pushed back hard as they had every right to do so.

Blockchain Gaming: Inevitable or Just...Annoying?

One Ubisoft employee even had the gall to proclaim that “Web3 gaming is inevitable.” That one line of text is guaranteed to set off a tsunami of virtual eye-rolling. Inevitability, as we’ve discussed before, is a dangerous word, particularly when it’s used in the context of technology. Remember Betamax? Minidiscs? Google Glass? Just because something is possible doesn’t mean that it should be.

The core question is: does blockchain technology actually enhance the gaming experience? Does it actually make things easier? Or does it simply increase complexity, introduce new environmental harms—even with so-called “eco-friendly” blockchains—and invite scams and speculation?

Think about it. We've already got digital ownership in games. We purchase skins, characters, expansions constantly. What makes NFTs unique is their underlying blockchain technology. This opens up the potential for players to trade their items outside of the game’s ecosystem. Is that something gamers truly crave? Is the industry attempting to addict consumers to it? To do that, they want to access a new revenue stream.

The anxiety here is palpable. For gamers, they’ve seen the fair share of rug pulls and get rich quick crypto scams. Today, they run as far away from anything that’s called “blockchain” as possible. For Ubisoft to build hype around the release Might & Magic Fates needs to show promise of a captivating gameplay experience. They have to prove that the NFT integration makes the game better, not unburdens it.

Lost Magic or a New Spellbook?

Here's where the "Unexpected Connections" come in. Ubisoft’s current plight is similar to the period when the first video streaming services launched. Long ago, when Netflix was still just a DVD rental service, streaming stayed in its box. People were skeptical about streaming. "Why would I want to watch movies on my computer?" they asked. Netflix continued to push through doubt, flourish and finally upend the entertainment industry as we know it.

Could Ubisoft be on a similar path? Could Might & Magic Fates be the blockchain gaming Squid Game, the show that finally brings it to the masses?

Perhaps. Here’s the crucial difference — Netflix didn’t just supply more of the same content, they provided a superior, more convenient way to access that content. Gaming uses a lot of the blockchain technology like crypto but tends to be more of a solution looking for a problem. Second, it brings irrelevant friction and complication to the gaming experience.

Or perhaps, just perhaps, Ubisoft has reached a come-to-player moment and sincerely wants to invest in creating that better, more player-owned future of gaming. At the moment… They look like they’re wearing rose-colored, blockchain-shaped glasses. Unlike their audience, they are unable to read the deep skepticism, disappointment and frustration.

The next big return of an old-school classic looked like it was going to be Might & Magic, returning after 11 years in the wilderness. Instead, it’s just the latest skirmish in the long-running struggle between video game enthusiasts and corporate interests for the future of the industry. At this stage of the game, it sure seems like Ubisoft is losing.

The question remains: can Ubisoft learn from its past mistakes and build a truly compelling blockchain game that gamers will embrace? Or will Might & Magic Fates be yet another NFT bonfire, stoking the fires of gamer hate? Only time will tell. Let's hope they are pioneering, not misunderstanding. The other path only spells a grim future in which gaming is stripped of all joy. Instead, it becomes a world ruled by speculative finance – that’s a future no one wants.