18/10/2021 Epic Games Store Will 'Welcome' NFT Games After Steam Bans Them

DecorativeImage:Epic Games / Kotaku

Epic Games and itsCEO Tim Sweeneyare open to letting games that use blockchain technology and NFTs onto its PC store,even as NFTs continue to be criticized for being a giant,planet-burning scamfilled with grifters.This follows Valve’s decision to remove and ban all games that utilize NFTs and blockchain technology. It also follows earlierstatements from Epic’s CEO which said Epicwouldn’ttouch NFTs due to scams.

Epic Games toldThe Vergethat, although there might be some limitations, itis open to working with devs who want to use blockchain technology, NFTs,and cryptocurrencies in games that could appear on the publisher’s digital storefront.

EpicCEOTim Sweeneytweeted astatementfollowingThe Verge’spublication of astory about his company’s interest in allowing NFT tech on its storefront stating that the “Epic Games Storewill welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group.”

People quicklypointed out that this seemed to directly contradict statements from Sweeney released via Twitter last month.In those earlier tweets, the CEO said that Epic wouldn’t touch NFTsbecause“the whole field is currently tangled up with an intractable mix of scams, interesting decentralized tech foundations, and scams.”

Now, a few weeks later,it seems Epic and its CEO are actually totally open to NFTs.But don’t worry Sweeney had anexplanationfor this contradiction. Not a good explanation, mind you.

According to Sweeney, he and Epic make a distinctionbetween the company as a game developer and as a tech company.So while game dev Epic won’t ever touch NFTs(at least, for now...) the tech company version of Epic is open and ready to do business with blockchain devs and creators.

Does this make sense? Not really!

It seems like Sweeney wants to have his NFT cake and eatit too. And while it is true that he has openly criticized NFTs and blockchain technologyon Twitter, that doesn’t change the fact that the company he is a CEO of is still openly down to let NFT-infused games ontotheir storefront. It does almost feel like a case ofEpic wanting to do what Valve won’t as the publisher continues to compete with Steam in every way possible.

And while I’m happy to see Steam facing competitionand I think the last year or so has alreadyshown thevalue of said competition( LikeValve improving Steam more than usual) I don’t think Epic needs to carry the torch for NFTs just because Valve won’t.

Arts

https://kotaku.com/epic-games-store-will-welcome-nft-games-after-steam-ban-1847878298/amp

Interesting NFTs
Discord Assembly
Discord logo factory. 3D animation, 10-second loop, 30 fps. Created using Cinema4D, X-Particles, Octane, and After Effects. Originally posted on TikTok (@jigpx) on 2/20/21. 47.5m+ views, 3.2m+ likes (as of 4/22/21).
Who's in control?
In a society where everyone wants to control everyone, who's in control? "Who's in control?" is a mirror of a controlling society, a futuristic vision of a current reality. Artwork with three different states in all Layers (day, night and sunset) allows owners to make different combinations and show who is in control of this artwork! *** Scanning this artwork with the ARize app [https://arize.io/] will trigger an AR video experience*** ***Music used in the videoart by Midranger (feat. Holly Drummond) - "Unrequited" ***
Colonel Cupcake
Shalom! I'm Colonel Cupcake. In high school, I was voted biggest teacher's pet. I would give it all up to star in a soap opera. Let's get busy!
#87661
By OthersideDeployer
Who Is The Creator 2
The idea for this piece was borne out of a tweet of mine that caused a bit of a stir. I’d posted a link to a blog article I’d written a number of months previous titled ‘Who is the Creator’ discussing various types of creative collaborations and why I hire people to work on my animations. It generated a lot of debate around creation and attribution with the community split on whether it’s right or wrong for an artist to hire other professionals to help them realize their art projects. I decided to push the boundaries even further and see how the cryptoart community responded. What if I quite literally had nothing to do with the physical or digital elements of the work other than coming up with the concept and coordinating it? I decided there was one artist in the space who could add huge value to this idea on levels that none other could and so I gathered my courage and contacted the great José Delbo to ask him if he’d be interested in a very unique collaboration. I explained to him that to make this piece ‘work’ he couldn't have any say in what I produced and moreover, he wouldn’t even be allowed to see the animation until it was dropped on MakersPlace. To my surprise, Mr Delbo agreed to my proposal. The animation tells the story of the creative process, which includes my roles as writer, director, and producer working with a team and making edits and changes ‘in real time’. The dialogue between myself and my ‘hired guns’ plays out in front of the viewer. The music written for the piece adds to the nostalgia of the comic book superhero theme but other elements such as the snapping and kicking of the pencil and the signing of my signature at the bottom incorporates further layers and challenges the viewer to ask important questions, such as, is the ‘Art’ the final animation (the creation) or is the ‘Art’ the concept/credit for the creation itself?