Table of Contents
Square Enix has come under fire after releasing a trailer for its upcoming NFT game "Symbiogenesis."
Symbiogenesis marks the Japanese publisher's first NFT game, described as "narrative-unlocked entertainment." As the player unlocks the main story and stories of each character, "mysteries" of the world will unravel.
Some 10,000 NFT characters with unique designs, various races and professions, will be available. The characters will be sold as each of the game's six chapters are revealed.
In the game's Project Evaluation Report, created by Web3 game guild LGG, one slide details its "mechanism to control NFT selling pressure."
"In SYMBIOGENESIS, it is important to control selling pressure because of the strong link between game progression and NFT," the report states.
Its first step instructs players to "hold NFTs for a long time without selling them."
Decided to look more into Square Enix’s new NFT game and imagine seeing something like this and going “wow, this looks fun and worthwhile!” pic.twitter.com/n2nlkTnrVy
— Lady Emily (@GreatCheshire) March 14, 2023
Square Enix had already felt the wrath of gamers for opening discussions of an NFT game. The Japanese developer first found itself in hot water in January 2022 after company president Yosuke Matsuda teased the potential introduction of NFTs. Nonetheless, Square Enix went ahead and partnered with Sandbox to revive its Dungeon Siege series into the metaverse.
Read more: Square Enix “Doubles Down” on Blockchain Integration Despite NFT Backlash
A few months later, Square Enix said it would be “doubling down on its business plan of including blockchain elements in its games in the not-so-distant future” and announced Symbiogenesis in November.
Predictably, Square Enix is once again facing backlash. Likes on the trailer for Symbiogensis have been "disabled by the owner," whilst the comments are far from encouraging.
"I feel bad for all the genuinely good artists (trailers looks and sounds good) that had to work on this," reads one top comment.
"Projects like these are why your company is having bad quarter after bad quarter. What the hell is wrong with senior management at Square Enix that made them think this was a good idea? smh," another reads.
"Genuinely can't believe you guys are still going through with this and i hope it flops so the higher-ups at Square finally wake up," said another.
GameFi in 2023
2022 was a dreary year for web3, and GameFi was no different. As we progress through 2023, market participants and gamers alike are taking a more cautious approach to web3.
Just last week, the FBI issued a warning about how criminals are using play-to-earn games to steal cryptocurrency from gamers.
The FBI said that criminals are creating “fake gaming apps” to steal millions of dollars in crypto. These apps are advertised as play-to-earn games that offer financial rewards to players.
Read more: Is It Game Over for GameFi in 2023?
Nonetheless, with rising interest in the sector, and many project still far from completion, 2023 could serve as a make it or break it year for GameFi.
The world of Web3 can be quite a whirlwind. Whether it’s crypto news in Singapore, South East Asia or even across the globe, we understand how busy the industry is keeping you, so we kindly send out three newsletters each week:
- BlockBeat for a wrap-up of the week’s digital assets news
- Blockhead Brief for weekend happenings as well as what to look forward to in the week ahead
- Business Bulletin for macroeconomic updates and industry developments.
To avoid FOMO and access member-only features, click here to subscribe for FREE.
