half-baked-battle-royale-with-nfts-to-launch-on-the-epic-games-store,-pleasing-nobody

It appears just like the Epic Games Store is getting its first NFT game. Um… yee haw? Grit was introduced in 2021 as a cowboy battle royale coming to Steam, however after lacking just a few early entry launch home windows it went quiet, then resurfaced earlier this yr as a blockchain game. While there’s nonetheless no launch date, Grit now has a web page on the Epic Games Store and is listed as “coming soon.”

A number of of us gave Grit a attempt throughout a technical check final yr—at that stage it was simply one other battle royale with no point out of NFTs—and whereas none of us have been blown away it did show a little bit of promise. An Old West battle royale with six-shooters, steam engines, horses, and a poker-based loot system had a number of enchantment, even in an alpha state. But it undoubtedly had a protracted approach to go.

Since then we’ve not heard a lot about Grit, because it rapidly hit some snags. First, a September 2021 early entry launch date obtained shuffled to January 2022, after which a second delay pushed it later into the yr. In February the game introduced a partnership with Gala Games, a blockchain gaming firm. In addition to a battle royale, Grit is now an NFT game.

“Play as an entirely unique character and customize their look. Generative Hero NFTs allow you to own your gunslinger and access cosmetic loadout slots, increased earning potential, and more,” reads the official site. A hyperlink takes you to a Gala Games site where you should buy a “Gunslinger Box” where you’ll be able to “receive your 1 of 10,000 Generative Characters,” principally, a cowboy avatar you utilize in-game. 

This is not information to anybody paying consideration, however NFTs have not obtained a heat welcome in gaming. Stalker 2 introduced NFT plans after which instantly cancelled them after fan backlash, Team17 did the very same factor, CCP rejected the thought for Eve Online, and Ubisoft is struggling to promote the thought to its personal workers. Even Troy Baker obtained ratioed.

Gamers, largely, don’t need NFTs in video games, and so they additionally roll their eyes each time one more battle royale comes alongside, plus many are nonetheless proof against the Epic Games Store basically. So it is fairly arduous to conceive of Grit being a lot of successful, and straightforward to grasp why individuals on twitter have already began calling it “Grift.” It does not assist that considered one of Grit’s horse NFTs seems to be simply a $30 asset from Unreal Engine 5’s library. Somehow, Oblivion’s Horse Armor DLC is now not the worst.

It’s additionally arduous to say how a lot the game has come alongside since we examined it again in 2021. A short glimpse of some “gameplay” (a streamer shooting at some partitions whereas ready for different gamers to hitch) does not look all that scorching, not to mention “insane in the membrane” as they describe it.

Meanwhile, Grit nonetheless has a web page on the Steam retailer, which is odd as a result of Valve banned video games with NFTs or cryptocurrency again in October of 2021 so it is secure to say Grit will not be launching there in any respect. In response to Valve’s assertion, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney mentioned in 2021 that Epic would “welcome” blockchain video games offered they observe “the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated,” regardless of a month earlier describing blockchain video games as being “tangled up with an intractable mix of scams.”

Somewhat paradoxically, Sweeney has been on Twitter at the moment attempting to let individuals know {that a} Fortnite NFT is a rip-off. Welcome to the blockchain!