Team17 announced yesterday that it would be the latest video game company to enter the NFT space, having partnered with a third party called Reality Gaming Group to develop “collectible digital artwork” based on its Worms franchise as part of an aptly named “MetaWorms” project.
Now, less than 24 hours later, Team17 has confirmed that it has dropped its NFT initiative, citing negative feedback from gamers and partners for its decision in abandoning the NFT space. The British video game developer and publisher had attempted to soften the inevitable controversy with its plan of donating some of the revenue earned from NFT sales to a global sustainability firm, but evidently, that was not enough to appease gamers, who continue to make it clear that they want nothing to do with NFTs.
Team17 is today announcing an end to the MetaWorms NFT project.
— Team17 (@Team17) February 1, 2022
We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.
“Team17 is today announcing an end to the MetaWorms NFT project,” a tweet from the Worms developer and publisher reads. “We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.”
Surprisingly, many of Team17’s own studio partners have taken to social media to publicly express their disappointment at the company, clarifying that their games won’t feature NFTs of any kind. They include Playtonic (Yooka-Laylee), Ghost Town Games (Overcooked!), and Aggro Crab (Going Under), the latter of which used particularly colorful language to describe the trending blockchain technology.
“We believe NFTs cannot be environmentally friendly, or useful, and really are just an overall f*cking gift,” reads an image tweeted on the developer’s official Twitter account.
sigh pic.twitter.com/I4PIQB6o1H
— AGGRO CRAB (@AggroCrabGames) January 31, 2022
Source: Team17