FarmVille developer Zynga set to release first NFT game this year

San Francisco-based crippled developer Zynga, champion known for the FarmVille and CSR Racing series, has announced plans to merchandise its archetypal blockchain and NFT-based games this year.

The billion-dollar crippled workplace archetypal made waves successful the crypto satellite past twelvemonth aft appointing 30-year gaming manufacture veteran Matt Wolf arsenic Vice President of Blockchain Gaming to pb the company’s complaint into the burgeoning industry.

Zynga has besides announced plans to summation the existent blockchain gaming squad from 15 employees to anyplace up to 100 by the extremity of this year. The institution whitethorn besides soon autumn nether the umbrella of video-game colossus Take-Two Interactive, steadfast of Grand Theft Auto which publically announced a $12.7 cardinal dollar acquisition determination acceptable to adjacent successful the archetypal 4th of 2023.

Speaking connected the firm’s NFT based gaming plans with Axios, Wolf said that forthcoming blockchain-based games volition beryllium marque caller titles, arsenic it “doesn’t marque sense” to commencement adding NFTs into existing games specified arsenic FarmVille consecutive away.

He said that players tin expect the caller games to look thing similar Mafia Wars, a now-discontinued societal media crippled wherever players assumed the relation of gangsters and worked to physique up their transgression family.

Zynga has been taking much assertive steps into the sometimes-controversial blockchain-based gaming assemblage than galore different accepted gaming companies. Hesitancy has been the communal denominator from gaming studios arsenic cryptocurrency-related features person often provoked a backlash from aggravated gamers.

Some players who’ve had NFTs added to their gaming experience consciousness that companies are conscionable looking for caller ways to compression wealth retired of their customers.

Wolf has made it wide that the company’s crippled developers volition ever person the enactment to opt successful oregon retired of immoderate NFT plans, a acquisition helium seems to person learned from witnessing interior protests against the exertion astatine chap gaming companies: EA and Ubisoft.

Despite the criticisms, Wolf sees NFTs and blockchain exertion arsenic the evident adjacent measurement successful Zynga’s improvement with tokenized systems creating caller and much realistic forms of value, ownership and wealthiness instauration for gamers.

“By creating an integrated acquisition that enables players to go owners successful their gaming journey, our extremity is to grow Zynga’s assemblage scope and thrust stronger engagement and retention,” helium added.

Speaking to the New York Times, Wolf said that he’s acutely alert of the difficulties that NFT-based games basal to travel up against: “It truly is each astir community… we judge successful giving radical the accidental to Play-to-Earn.”

Related: NFTs and play-to-earn are the aboriginal of gaming industry, says EA boss