[GameSpot] - Epic Will Not Ban NFTs, Encourages Customers To Make Their Own Decisions

[343iBot]

Epic has reaffirmed its policy to allow NFTs and cryptocurrency integrated games on the Epic Games Store. As other platforms have banned the use of NFTs, Epic has continued to allow the technology, even as it doesn't use it in its own games.

Replying to an account calling for the banning of NFTs on the Epic Games Store, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted, "Developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them. I believe stores and operating system makers shouldn’t interfere by forcing their views onto others." This statement comes after Microsoft banned NFT development in Minecraft, shutting down several user-developed projects.

Developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them. I believe stores and operating system makers shouldn’t interfere by forcing their views onto others. We definitely won’t.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 21, 2022

This is consistent with Epic's response after Steam banned NFT games last October. Tim Sweeney affirmed that Epic will not use crypto in their games, but that such games will have a place on Epic Games Store platform, as long as "they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group."

NFTs, and crypto-currency in general, remain a controversial and confusing topic. The technology has been used to scam users. In a recent example, a scammer impersonated monster collection game Coromon, prompting a developer statement. There is also ongoing concern about the environmental impact of the technology, as certain types of NFTs are very power intensive with arguably little utility. When game companies like Ubisoft have introduced their own NFT programs, the backlash has been immediate and immense.

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