Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra Says No NFTs

wowhead.com:

Blizzard Entertainment released a new survey this week, but unlike previous surveys targeting a specific game or franchise, such as asking players opinions on upcoming Wrath of the Lich King Classic features, this one covered a range of non-specific gaming interests, including questions regarding cryptocurrency and NFTs in gaming. Cryptocurrency, play-to-earn gaming, and NFTs are already the subject of significant controversy and debate.

Previously contained to small scale and mostly unheard of games, cryptocurrency, play-to-earn gaming, and NFTs were already the source of debate and controversy before Ubisoft became the first big gaming company to announce their venture onto the blockchain. Despite being met with an immediate and overwhelming negative response, decried by both fans and industry professionals alike as an exploitative scam by companies that care about profit above all else, executives maintain that «gamers don't get what a digital secondary market can bring» by giving players the opportunity to resell their items once they're finished with them or the game.

In response to an article about this poll tweeted by VGC, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra stated «No one is doing NFTs.» The somewhat curt response left some even more confused than before, wondering why the poll would go out with those questions in the first place if that were truly the case. Though while there exist several possible reasons, whether miscommunication, backpedaling, or simply intending to prove that Blizzard's audience would have a negative reaction to the suggestion, it seems clear that Ybarra is not currently interested in exploring NFTs within Blizzard Entertainment.