Riot Games recently had to clarify that a character from the game Valorant isn’t a fan of NFTs after fan backlash towards a recent image that showed the character, Killjoy, iring NFT artwork. Killjoy ed the team-based first-person shooter Valorant roster this past summer. The Valorant social media pages recently hosted a special event where images were posted of the character Killjoy spending a day in her home city of Berlin, . This included riding public transit, enjoying local food, and taking in some art at a museum.
The subject of NFTs (which stands for non-fungible tokens) in video games is a sore subject for many players. Despite it being the latest craze for companies to jump on, NFTs are ultimately bad for video games, and the world in general. Aside from the global warming side-effects of cryptocurrency, gatekeeping content like soundtracks and concept art behind NFTs, while highly profitable, lessens the gaming experience for the general public. Hence why there was such a large backlash when the Valorant team even hinted at the idea of NFTs.
The official Valorant Twitter posted an apology to their fans, clarifying that the character Killjoy is not a fan of NFTs and that the artist featured was only meant to be one from Berlin, not intentionally an NFT artist. Overall the response to the apology tweet was mixed between fans being relieved that Riot wasn’t about to start selling NFTs, and other fans confused why this needed to be clarified in the first place. One response from a Twitter , ReallyWendi, pointed out how this was a very strange way to learn about Riot’s stance on NFTs, but on the bright side, at least now fans know where the developer stands going forward.
While this was certainly a hiccup for the game, Valorant still has a bright future, with new characters well on the way even two years after the game’s initial release. Aside from just being a fun shooter, Valorant also remains a popular esport that hosts regular tournaments. As for the future of Riot, Valorant, and NFTs, the developer did clear the air in of a specific character’s appreciation for NFTs, but the loophole could be that Riot themselves are still fans. Although, the backlash from even featuring an NFT artist would likely become much worse if Riot ever decides to jump on the trend.
Only time will tell what the future has in store for the world of video games and NFTs. For now, it seems like Riot and Valorant will be staying away, and hopefully, the developer’s outlook stays that way. Meanwhile, other huge developers like Ubisoft are still getting into the NFT space, making the trend seem like the next logical step in the evolution of predatory micro-transactions that have been the bane of so many video games over the last few years. Hopefully, the gaming community remains as vigilant as they were in this Valorant situation and teaches video game developers to keep away from this market.
Source: Valorant/Twitter, ReallyWendi/Twitter
