Ubisoft Quietly Launches Its First NFT Game, Champions Tactics

Young or old, rich or poor, left or right – it seems that if there's one thing that unites people from all walks of life and all regions of our planet, it is the profound hatred of all things related to NFTs and web3 projects, especially if they are somehow connected to video games and the gaming industry as a whole.

Despite the near-unanimous dislike towards the idea of intertwining blockchain with video games, there are still some development studios, including AAA ones, who, for some reason, continue their attempts to push web3 initiatives, completely disregarding the opinion of the overwhelming majority of their customers and the reputational damages they might sustain. One such developer is Ubisoft, who recently released its first fully-fledged NFT game, Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, to as little fanfare as possible.

Described as a "competitive multiplayer turn-based RPG," Champions Tactics appears to be similar to hundreds of other NFT games in that its main gameplay shtick revolves around acquiring digital collectibles. In this case, those are character figurines that one can assemble in squads and fight against other players, with the winner determined by the line-up's skills and actions.

According to Ubisoft, 75,000 figurines have been minted in total, with about 2,500 already available on the Champions Tactics marketplace. Prices for each character vary, starting at around $6-7 for the cheapest ones and reaching hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the most expensive champs, with the Swift Zealot figurine standing above all the rest, priced at an astounding $63,372 at the time of writing.

Much like many other crypto-related games, Champions Tactics is F2P and, in fact, can be played without spending a dime on the figurines, as players can acquire them using in-game currency. However, it's highly likely that players will need to invest hundreds of hours grinding to earn enough gold for even the least expensive characters, though this remains to be seen.

The most interesting thing about Champions Tactics, however, is not its gameplay or figurines, but rather the way in which it was released. Unlike 99% of Ubisoft's original titles, this one didn't receive any love from its creator; it wasn't mentioned on Ubisoft's main social media pages, YouTube channel, or heck, even in the 'News' section on the studio's website, which is rather strange, considering Ubisoft is so enthusiastic about web3 that they continue to promote it in 2024 and are ready to defend the concept by claiming that players just don't understand NFTs yet.

Though it's impossible to say for sure, the sneaky and quiet manner in which Champions Tactics was launched could indicate that Ubisoft had listened to what the community wanted after all, but by that time, they had already invested too many resources and effort into the NFT title to cancel it altogether, opting instead to distance themselves from it as best they can.

As if by some sort of divine plan, Ubisoft's first NFT game arrives at a time when the studio is facing perhaps its most tumultuous period in history. Just a week ago, they disbanded Ubisoft Montpellier, the team behind Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, after the game failed to meet the executives' financial expectations, selling around one million copies since its release in January of this year. Coupled with Assassin's Creed Shadows getting delayed to February 2025, Star Wars Outlaws and Skull and Bones showing disappointing financial results, and Tencent openly considering purchasing the studio, it sure seems that Ubisoft's future is currently as uncertain as uncertain gets.

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