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.

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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

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