Ubisoft’s Future Titles Might Take Gaming to the Next Level
Ubisoft is exploring the potential integration of blockchain technology into future games. Although it’s most well-known for powering cryptocurrency, its potential spans far past this technology sector. Within the gaming industry, it could provide secure ownership of digital assets.
Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab in particular explores the use of wider technology to enhance gameplay. Lidwine Sauer, Director of Insights and Trends for the lab, revealed Ubisoft’s interest in blockchain technology.
“When we see changes happening, we ask ourselves, does this trend create an opportunity for innovation? Does this trend mean we can create new types of games or new types of services?”
“Creativity has become one of the most valued social currencies,” he continued. “Entertainment is not just something you consume, it’s something you create. It’s one of the use cases of the blockchain, and we want to go further than that. We feel there’s something even more interesting to find [within the blockchain], and we’re in the process of trying to find that interesting thing.”
“[You can] finally have real digital collectibles that cannot be replicated by anyone and can be 100 percent owned by [the player],” Sauer said. “Thanks to the blockchain, we can now have the equivalent of a digital Picasso, with the advantage that it’s a lot more difficult to steal something on the blockchain than to steal a Picasso.”
It seems likely that future Ubisoft game’s like Assassin’s Creed and The Division 2 could integrate this kind of technology. It would give players a tangible investment in the game’s that they play, be it through a quest they created, a save file, a score, or an outfit. For example, you could create an item in The Division 2 that can be swapped between accounts and even retained after a server crash. It’s an interesting possibility that would put players in a position of ownership not possible in the current landscape.