Did you think the NFT train hadall but passed us by? Would it have been unthinkable for a major AAA publisher to dip its feet into Web 3.0years after the fad had gone by? Well, Ubisoft certainly doesn’t feel that way, ifChampions Tacticsis anything to go by.
Granted,Champions Tacticsis not the first time Ubisoft has attempted to push out an NFT platform. Some may recall the much maligned Ubisoft Quartz and its “Digits,” which were shoved intoGhost Recon: Breakpointwithall the grace of a walrus on stilts. Even thoughQuartz might’ve fizzled out basically immediately, Ubisoft appears to have had a different Web 3.0 project in tow all along, and that’s whereChampions Tacticscomes into the picture.
Champions Tactics is Ubisoft’s new attempt at managing a proper NFT platform
Its clumsy, confusing title aside,Champions Tacticsmight’ve been timed well had Ubisoft pushed it out back in early 2022. I may also be giving it more credit than it deserves, granted.
Whatever the case may be,Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chroniclesleverages Web 3.0 tech as the baseline of its figurine-collecting features. As perIGN’s detailed report, players need to either purchase these figurines (i.e. NFTs in thin disguise) using cryptocurrencies or the in-game Gold currency. Alternatively, one can attempt to craft them using the Forge, which is also leveraged using cryptocurrencies and/or Gold.
In a somewhat unsurprising turn,Champions Tactics‘ fast-developing in-game marketplace is already rife with opportunities to spend money on items best described as “questionable.” A Swift Zealot figurine, for example, comes in at about $63K, earning itself the title of the most expensive item on the market at this time. The majority of figurines will set you back just a few bucks a piece, though I myself find absolutely no comfort in knowing that.
The prerequisites for playingChampion Tacticsare aUbisoft account and a compatible crypto-wallet, though the game itself is ostensibly a free-to-play experience.Champions Tacticsappears to run on the Oasys service, which bills itself as a “gaming-optimized and energy efficient blockchain.” The game’s entire schtick is, naturally, the collecting and trading of figures/Champions/NFTs, with a layer of PvP thrown in for good measure. There’s no single-player or PvE gameplay to speak of, note, so if you end up jumping in just to see what all the hubbub is, prepare to have oodles of fun.
The most curious bit of all, from my point of view, is how stealthily Ubisoft has approached this game.Champions Tacticshas received virtually no meaningful marketing push at all, and most people missed its release date entirely. With that in mind,it’s not like Ubisoft’s been having a good time as of late. As far as Steam releases go, I’m okay with this one being left off the docket.
