Despite the promotion and hype for the project, Ubisoft Quartz Beta did not prove to be very popular. Almost two weeks after launch, the NFT collection of weapon skins and gear barely generated $ 400 in revenue – only 15 sales.
Ubisoft’s NFT Flop
Liz Edwards – senior character artist for Apex Legends – called out the company’s sales numbers on Sunday. According to Rarible and Objkte – the NFT marketplaces that Ubisoft Quartz’s site links to – only fifteen NFTs in the collection were sold across each. That’s under two sales per day since its launch earlier this month.
Edwards reported a total sales volume of XTZ 94.49 – less than $ 400 at today’s prices.
The collection is connected to Tom Clancy’s “Ghost Recon Breakpoint”, released on December 9th. NFTs function like skins for weapons and gear, each with a distinct serial number that sets them apart from other items in the collection.
Though these serial numbers are visible in-game, Twitter users point out that they’re very difficult to see during actual gameplay. Therefore, the novelty and value of holding a “scarce” item is severely diminished if its scarcity can’t be shown off, which Edwards herself playfully mocked.
NFT’s mint on Tezos is relatively inexpensive, due to its low gas costs. However, given the collection’s lack of traction, the project can run at a loss, especially when marketing costs and market fees are factored in. Over 2,000 of these NFTs were issued by a Ubisoft account.
The Public Perception of NFTs
Twitter sentiment surrounding NFTs has been intensely negative among gamers. Last month, communications platform Discord (commonly used by video-game players) backpedaled on plans to integrate itself with Ethereum NFTs after massive community backlash.
Objections to NFT generally fall into two camps: they are either viewed as scams or as harmful to the environment. Tezos is trying to address this latest criticism through its Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, which consumes almost not as much power as its competing chain Ethereum.
