NFTs have been a hot topic online outside and now inside of gaming. The idea of being able to purchase a digital copy of an image that one can buy and sell for cryptocurrency is not new. NFTs have been running rampant around social media for a long time with collections like the Bored Apes, and Lazy Lions. However, combining the concept of NFTs into something like a video game is a newer concept. Other companies have tried it out, like the developers behind the game Age of Rust, which was recently removed from Steam due to Valve’s ban on buying and selling in-game content for real money. However, this company was an independent project. Now a real AAA company is trying to get in on the NFT market, Ubisoft, with their new program Ubisoft Quartz.

Described as “a new experience available to our players, built upon our vision of creating an ever-greater connection between you and the game worlds you love,” the program, which is only available for PC players who own copies of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, is going to be able to acquire specialized and one-of-a-kind NFTs.

However, that isn’t the name that they’re using for these. In the Ubisoft Quartz program, they’re called Digits. These unique weapon skins, helmets, and other cosmetic items aren’t going to be able to give players an advantage over other players. They’re purely cosmetic. However, Ubisoft is aiming to make them unique by giving players a special serial number on the in-game model, as well as the NFT. The ownership history of the item the player has is also going to pass “uniqueness” to the item.

On top of this, the barrier to entry to pick up these NFTs is also going to be very low as well, since they’re going to come in free drops on the Quartz app developed by Ubisoft. These free drops are going to be limited. Players who pick up a part of the first collection, called “editions,” are going to be able to use their items in Ghost Recon Breakpoint until they sell it on an authorized third-party market.

The aim for the digits is to make players in-game inventories not tied to their accounts, and instead, tied to their crypto wallets.

Players who want to jump in on the NFTs in Tom Clancy are going to be able to download the app on their phones, connect both their Ubisoft Account and crypto wallet, and then pick up their NFT when they go live. Since they’re limited, players are going to have to act fast.

According to the website for the program, though, there are going to be some caveats before players can pick them up. The first NFT, the M4A1 Tactical| Wolves, requires that players be at XP Level 5 before being able to claim the NFT. The second NFT, Wolf Enhanced Pants, requires that Breakpoint players have over 100 hours of global playtime. The third NFT, Wolf Enhanced Helmet A, is going to be available to players if they have over 600 hours of global playtime.

With this in mind, it appears that Ubisoft is actually making these Digits for players who have been loyal fans of the game since its release, preventing people who are only in it for the money from swooping in and picking up the NFT, only to sell it on the market for an inflated price.

One of the biggest questions a lot of detractors of the NFT craze have is how the NFTs are going to affect the environment. The environmental aspect of currencies like NFTs and crypto come from miners, which are mostly located in China, a country still using coal as means of energy. This is how people will tie the use of crypto into it being the direct cause of greenhouse emissions.

Comparing the concept of these NFTs to something like Age of Rust, Ubisoft’s NFTs are a little more ethical.

While the NFTs serve no actual purpose other than character customization, Ubisoft mentions that the NFTs are going to provide uniqueness, an exclusive experience, and control, to owners of their digits. While their NFTs aren’t going to lock players out of missions if they don’t have them like Age of Rust. Instead, the uniqueness comes from owning one of the few customization options in the game.

Comparing them to normal NFTs, there’s not much difference: they’re special customization that only the owners of the NFTs have control over.

So, with all this in mind, it seems like Ubisoft is trying something new with the crypto market, and the issuing of these NFTs in gaming. Players are going to have to put in the hours if they want some of the customization options for the characters. However, there are going to be more NFTs coming out from Ubisoft, so it appears that only time is going to tell how this new business venture pans out.