- A Worms NFT series will not go ahead after backlash from the community and developers
- Worms makers Team 17 reversed its decision to launch MetaWorms, featuring Worms NFTs
- The reversal is another example of just how much gamers detest NFTs
A planned series of NFTs based on the popular video game franchise Worms has been canned after the studio received a slew of negative feedback from the community and a key game developer. Team17 announced the plan to move into the NFT space on Monday in a deal with Reality Gaming Group, but just 24 hours later it had rowed back on the decision after a backlash over both the use of NFTs themselves and also the choice of Ethereum.
Worms NFT Plan Dies a Quick Death
Team17 has been making variations on the Worms game since 1995, and it announced its latest iteration, Metaworms, on Monday, which was meant to feature artwork from Worms’ rich history being sold as NFTs.
However, the backlash to the plan was both swift and fierce, with the most notable criticism coming from one of its partners, Aggro Crab Games:
sigh pic.twitter.com/I4PIQB6o1H
— AGGRO CRAB (@AggroCrabGames) January 31, 2022
Worms fans were also up in arms over the use of Ethereum in particular, given its newfound reputation as a planet killer:
People hate them because the creation of them is bad for the environment. Hence the desire for companies to not make them.
— DryerCombo (@DryerCombo) February 2, 2022
Team17 didn’t take long to reverse its decision, explaining in a tweet yesterday how it had “listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities” and had binned the idea for Worms NFTs. This led to (partial) redemption from some:
Of course you did, nobody wants NFTs in gaming and thank god you listened
Unlike UbiSoft who say we “don’t get it”
— Lauren-Gay-Bri’ish (@AwfulCabbage) February 1, 2022
The move, which will no doubt disappoint Worms-loving NFT collectors, is another example of the growing desire by gaming communities to keep NFTs out of its sector. Indeed, a similar reaction was seen with Ubisoft’s play-to-earn blockchain side project.
Gaming communities were already anti-crypto because of the crypto mining sector sucking the graphics card pool dry, and gaming forums are now teeming with gamers worried that developers and studios will start to push NFTs into their games too. As the Worms experience shows however, player power still matters when it comes to decision making…for now.
