Ubisoft is developing Might & Magic Fates, a new card game featuring a "Web3 layer that unlocks digital ownership." The company is taking another plunge into blockchain gaming. This follows very heavy blowback from the gaming community on their past efforts. Might & Magic Fates allows players to build decks from various Might & Magic factions, challenge others, and expand their collections through trading, playing, or opening booster packs. The “Web3 layer” is described like an optional add-on. With this release, Ubisoft aims to achieve success where its other blockchain games have failed.
Might & Magic Fates: A New Card Game with Optional Web3 Integration
Might & Magic Fates brings a living card game experience to the Might & Magic universe. In Spellforce: Conquest of Eos, players build their decks with creatures, spells, artifacts, buildings, and heroes from various factions. The beauty of the game is that players can challenge one another, creating an amazingly competitive environment.
Offering multiple ways for players to expand their card collections. These methods span trading with other players, earning cards through normal gameplay, to opening traditional booster packs. Work with the serendipity of chance. Boosters packs are filled with cards of different rarities, which injects some excitement and randomness into the building of collections.
Integrating a “Web3 layer” into this SOULFM support system opens up the ability for gamers to have digital ownership of in-game assets. Despite the pay-to-win aspect, Ubisoft wants you to know this is an optional feature. Players will have the option to opt into the blockchain elements or simply experience the core card game in a blockchain agnostic manner.
Ubisoft's Continued Push into Blockchain Gaming
Fates is not Ubisoft’s first move into Web3 gaming. The local company is well-known for creating two other successful blockchain-based games, CryptoKitties and Cheeze Wizards. Yet, both titles were savagely received by the conservative gaming community.
Ubisoft’s initial backlash to its Web3 games exposes a larger trend of gamer skepticism as it relates to blockchain. Opposition over environmental degradation, pay-to-win game design, and tokenization as speculative investment has stoked this backlash. Despite this, the studio continues to be interested in exploring what Web3 and blockchain tech can do for gaming.
"Web3 gaming is inevitable" - Ubisoft employee running the game's Twitter account ( MightMagicFates )
Community Concerns and Future Prospects
Demanding a reconsideration Ubisoft’s controversial insistence on moving forward with blockchain gaming—a technology that has already failed twice—is worth arguing about. To a large degree, gamers are still suspicious of the tech’s encroachment on their hobby. Might & Magic Fates features a “Web3 layer,” but it’s entirely optional. Players have expressed quite a few concerns, and this feature seems like a step towards tackling these specific complaints.
The success of Might & Magic Fates will likely depend on how well Ubisoft can balance the appeal of digital ownership with the core gameplay experience. Overcoming the current negative perceptions about blockchain gaming will be a major hurdle. The company's approach to addressing community concerns and delivering a compelling card game experience will be crucial in determining the game's fate.
