GCS Game World announced – to resounding backlash – that it would be integrating NFTs into the very building blocks of Stalker 2's world. The idea was that people who bought NFTs would be added into the game as NPCs to create a metaverse, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who supported the move.
In a post on Twitter, the developer stated, "We hear you. Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in Stalker 2. The interests of our fans and players are the top priority for the team. We're making this game for you to enjoy – whatever the cost is. If you care, we care too."
Only a day before the post, Stalker 2 doubled down on the same Twitter account, saying that the game is not blockchain-based, that NFTs will have no influence on gameplay, and that it would be completely optional. However, this wasn't enough to dissuade the backlash, hence the subsequent apology and change.
If you don't know, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are essentially a receipt. Imagine buying a carton of milk, but you want to show that this is your carton of milk – your unique, one of a kind carton. So you pay extra for a receipt that you can show people to say, "Yes, this is my milk. Nobody else's." That's what NFTs are, an expensive receipt for bragging rights. But the majority of people don't care that you have a unique carton of milk – it's just milk.
Instead of a receipt, it's a token ID – a serial number. But you can still right click and save the artwork and keep a 'duplicate' which is essentially the exact same but without that token. Yet they are incredibly expensive while also damaging the environment due to their ties to cryptocurrency which is mined for, using vast amounts of energy on par with whole households over the spans of weeks and, in some cases, even months. One Nyan Cat gif cost the equivalent of an EU resident's month of electricity usage.
Stalker 2 launches on April 28, 2022 – it's a follow-up to the cult classic 2007 game, Shadow of Chernobyl. And now, it's NFT free.
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