The small developer also revealed its rationale, citing a need to fund its game. 2 is not a blockchain game, NFT metahumans would be optional buy-ins, and the NFTs would have no impact on gameplay. The Ukrainian company then tweeted out some clarifications: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Many blockchains use much less energy than electricity-intensive Bitcoin, but some of the most adamantly anti-NFT gamers have painted all digital tokens as environmentally destructive. It also declined to name the blockchain it would use-which would have helped substantiate its claim that the project would be environmentally-conscious. GSC provided little explanation as to why it was making NFTs, leading many gamers to believe the company was jumping on to a fad.

GSC’s NFT pitch may have been bungled due to a lack of education for fans. While some gamers supported the idea, others did not and expressed their frustration by creating memes. The NFTs were set to be sold through Dmarket, a third-party marketplace where players can buy and sell in-game items. Buyers would then have their name or alias tied to that in-game character, giving them a cameo as a “bartender, comrade or enemy,” according to the announcement website. It started by revealing its most ambitious NFTs: three NPCs, or non-playable characters, dubbed “metahumans,” would be purchasable using blockchain technology. 2 developer GSC Game World announced it was including NFTs in its sequel. And in November, chat app Discord came under immediate fire from its core users after it teased a possible Metamask Ethereum wallet integration that has since been scrapped.

It's the latest example of gamers rising up against NFTs-blockchain-based tokens representing ownership of a digital item. Last week, game maker Ubisoft met vocal backlash from gamers upon announcing its first three in-game NFTs for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, sequel to first-person shooter game S.T.A.L.K.E.R., has cancelled its in-game NFT plans after receiving negative criticism on social media, largely from the gaming community.

Video game publishers have been trying to incorporate NFTs into their titles.

S.t.a.l.k.e.r. 2 canceled