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On Friday, April 15, an email was sent out to a (seemingly) random assortment of users, players, and owners of Activision Blizzard products. In the email was a request to fill out a survey for Blizzard that would help them "understand our players better." It would also help them "improve (their) products and services."
I actually received the survey request on Friday and went through the whole process of filling it out shortly after receiving the request. Included in the survey were questions related both to NFTs and even "play-to-earn gaming (earn cryptocurrency, NFTs, or real currency)". The portion of the survey in which they appeared asked users, "How interested are you in the following emerging/future trends in gaming?"
There was also a similar question asked about how much interest there was in "metaverse gaming experiences." I naturally put down that I was "very disinterested" in all three of these options.
The survey questions specifically related to NFTs were the focal point of a number of gaming outlets over the weekend. The survey was put together by the market research firm YouGov on behalf of Activision Blizzard.
A representative for Activision Blizzard says that they often conduct surveys on a "wide range of emerging topics to better learn about the interests of our players, regardless of our involvement in such trends." Mike Ybarra, one of Blizzard's current "co-leaders" says flatly that Activision Blizzard is not doing NFTs.
Given this statement, it seems as though the questions about NFTs and such were included by YouGov and not specifically by Blizzard themselves. Still, Blizzard is the company that included a real-money auction house with Diablo III's launch, so asking about NFTs doesn't seem that outlandish an idea. At least the lesson was learned from that failed experiment because Diablo IV will not include a real-money auction house.
Microsoft, who is currently in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard, have been keeping their distance from NFT and blockchain scams. They have not fully closed the door on them though. Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer has called NFTs and blockchain powered games "exploitative."
Other companies like EA and Take-Two are taking a wait and see approach. Still, some companies are blinded by the potential for a quick buck and have already leaned in hard to NFTs. Companies that have already released NFTs or plan to include Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Konami. Peter Molyneux is also all about that bullshit. Then, of course, there's a bunch of smaller developers that are all about that pyramid scheme.
