Ubisoft, the renowned creator of popular gaming franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, has recently become a node validator on the XPLA blockchain. The French gaming giant has been involved in Web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrency services for quite some time, and this new move, facilitated by its Strategic Innovation Lab, allows Ubisoft to contribute more to the XPLA network beyond its primary validation responsibilities. In collaboration with XPLA, Ubisoft will actively participate in making decisions regarding governance proposals, as stated in a press release.
XPLA is an open-source blockchain built on Tendermint and operates as a layer-1 network. Its primary objective is to facilitate the transition from Web2 to Web3 gaming. The network’s mainnet was launched in August 2022, with a core mission to empower players through a “play to own” gaming model. Some of the most popular games on the XPLA blockchain include The Walking Dead: All-Stars and Summoners War: Chronicles.
XPLA’s latest partnership with Ubisoft marks a significant milestone for the network, as mentioned in a blog post. Ubisoft, headquartered in Rennes, France, is one of the largest gaming companies globally, with numerous award-winning games and a combined sales figure of approximately 800 million titles. With a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, it is the second-largest gaming company in Europe, trailing behind Poland’s CD Projekt Red ($2.99 billion).
Ubisoft was among the early pioneers in investing in Web3 and blockchain technology. In 2021, the company published a manifesto outlining its plans in the blockchain and Web3 sectors, with a strong focus on player agency and ownership. Additionally, Ubisoft is a significant investor in Animoca Brands, a blockchain game developer based in Hong Kong, as previously reported by Cointelegraph in October 2021.
The popularity of blockchain gaming is steadily increasing as the Web3 space expands. Although it has not yet fulfilled its initial promises of decentralizing gaming assets on a large scale and revolutionizing the role of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in public perception, the involvement of major gaming companies like Ubisoft and Square Enix suggests a promising future for the sector.
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