Ubisoft Quietly Released Tactical RPG for PC. Champions Tactics is Free to Play, but Includes Microtransactions and NFTs
Ubisoft has not given up on NFT and recently released a game based on the technology. Champions Tactics is a free-to-play PvP RPG, whose release passed without much notice.
Already in 2021, the head of Ubisoft expressed his desire to introduce non-fungible tokens (NFTs for short) into its productions, which did not please both developers and players. However, the company did not give up and last week quietly released Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, which uses this unpopular technology.
Game of buying figurines
The title is described as a tactical PvP RPG for PC, in which players form teams of three and then fight duels in a turn-based combat system. The game uses figurines that can be purchased for in-game gold or cryptocurrencies. Additionally, there is an option to create your own champions using the "Forge" system, which also requires a fee.
According to IGN, the figures are available for sale for between $7 and $63,000, which doesn't mean anyone is buying them for that much. It is worth adding, however, that the first series of "The Warlords" sold out in less than half an hour, and its total sales reached over $5.3 million.
Theoretically, Champions Tactics is a free-to-play game and only requires a Ubisoft account and a blockchain wallet to run. However, it does not have a campaign, and focuses on duels between players, so those with more expensive figures will quickly have an advantage over those who do not spend money. So we are dealing with a classic example of a pay-to-win game.
Faint advertising
Ubisoft's decision to release a game using NFT at this very moment may be puzzling. The company has been struggling with significant issues recently, and using this technology is unlikely to help rebuild player trust. The game's trailer gained only about 1000 views in 7 days, so hardly anyone is even aware of the existence of Champions Tactics.
However, it's hard to be surprised, since the creators never presented it at events like Ubisoft Forward. We also won't find the game on the company's YouTube channel, nor in the "news" section on its main page. According to IGN, it was mainly advertised in places focused on NFTs. Perhaps in this way, the company wanted to avoid potential anger from gamers.
