The studio tripled-down on one of the worst trends in video game history, saying that "Web3 gaming is inevitable".
I have to admit, after covering two of Ubisoft's Web3 blockchain games they shipped back in late 2024, both of which – surprise, surprise – were obliterated by the gaming community, I actually, truly believed the lesson had been learned and thought I'd never have to put the words "Ubisoft" and "NFT" in the same headline ever again.
And yet, here we are. Not even six months later, the derided developer has reminded everyone why they lost all goodwill in the first place by unveiling yet another blockchain-based video game, doubling (or rather, tripling) down on what many would describe as the absolute worst trend the gaming industry has ever seen.
Meet Might & Magic Fates, an upcoming trading card game inspired by the Might and Magic universe. Unlike Ubisoft's previous NFT titles – which, at the very least, were shadow-dropped and gave us something to look and laugh at – Fates has only been announced and not released, making it impossible to tell what the game is even about – no gameplay, no graphics, and no story to speak of.
According to the official description on Fates' website, the game will feature your standard card game mechanics: players can build decks by combining creatures, spells, artifacts, buildings, and heroes from various Might & Magic factions, challenge other players, and expand their card collections by trading, playing, or opening booster packs filled with cards of varying rarities.
The caveat lies in that last part about trading and owning cards. While a Ubisoft IP, the game is being developed in partnership with Immutable, a cryptocurrency company that makes blockchain games and NFTs. As per the game's Q&A, players will be able to trade their cards using the Immutable blockchain and own them as NFTs, not only adding to Ubisoft's growing pile of Web3 slop but also making the first Might & Magic title in 11 years a blockchain game – not exactly a comeback one would hope for.
Interestingly, it seems that by 2025, Ubisoft has finally started to realize that the overwhelming majority of gamers absolutely loathe the idea of blockchain gaming and attempted to preemptively soothe the backlash by emphasizing that Might & Magic Fates' "Web3 layer that unlocks digital ownership" is an optional feature.
While that emphasis might've helped with optics, it was, however, pretty much undone by a Ubisoft employee running the game's Twitter account, who, in their infinite wisdom, declared that "Web3 gaming is inevitable," which, considering the words "blockchain," "NFT," and "Web3" are practically synonymous with "scam" for a lot of people, probably wasn't exactly the wisest thought to put into writing.
So, what are your thoughts on Ubisoft resurrecting Might and Magic only to make an NFT slop based on the IP? Will the third time be the charm for the struggling studio? Tell us what you think in the comments!
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