Ubisoft is reportedly exploring blockchain applications for games

Ubisoft – one of the world’s largest video game companies – is reportedly exploring the potential of blockchain technology in gaming and looks poised to break into the space.

The news was reported by French publication Les Échos, which stated that Ubisoft has been exploring blockchain technology for at least the last few months.

Reportedly, Ubisoft has an entire team dedicated to discovering the benefits blockchain technology can bring to video games. The report also details how Ubisoft has allegedly found a blockchain it wants to put into practice.

The publication claims the blockchain project in question is the Ethereum blockchain – which has already been used for a number of successful blockchain gaming titles such as the ever-popular decentralised application (dApp) CryptoKitties.

Ethereum is a popular platform for building dApps and blockchain-based games and is home to many of the token standards utilised within the space, such as ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155.

The report does not discuss to what capacity Ubisoft would integrate blockchain into its projects and which token standards could be implemented. It also doesn’t reveal any clear-cut timetable, which suggests Ubisoft’s foray into blockchain is still in the infancy stage.

Les Échos does however speculate that Ubisoft’s intention is to bring proven ownership to in-game items and alludes to the Fortnite phenomenon where players have been investing in character and weapon aesthetics which they can never reclaim or liquidate.

If Ubisoft was to implement the concept of proven ownership of virtual items, it also paves the way for the possibility of transferring in-game items between Ubisoft titles – though whether this would incorporate its current franchises, such as the Assassin’s Creed brand, is not clear.

Given Ubisoft’s stature in the gaming world, it is unlikely it would ever join the blockchain gaming Multiverse and lose revenue by teaming with the plethora of game developers already involved. But if the rumours are to be believed, then it could be possible Ubisoft is exploring its own version of a Multiverse.

It still remains unclear whether Ubisoft actually will move into the blockchain gaming space, though a mainstream global gaming behemoth such as Ubisoft paying attention to blockchain applications in gaming should help push the space further toward mass adoption.

Interested in reading more blockchain gaming-related stories? Discover more about the blockchain gaming Multiverse spearheaded by Enjin.