GSC Game World removes NFTs after backlash

On December 15, 2021, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game developer, GSC Game World, announced on Twitter: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Metaverse which was GSC's way to get into the NFT market. GSC claimed that this was completely optional and had no effect on the actual game, claiming that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl isn't a blockchain-based game. This program would allow people to become a "metahuman" in the game. This meant that whoever became a metahuman would become an NPC in the game rendered in very high detail. To become a "metahuman", players would've had to bid for an NFT offering that prize as part of an auction that was originally going to take place in January 2022. Whoever "owns" the NFT to become an NPC in the game would be able to buy and sell it up until a specific claim date after the auction. GSC Game World CEO Evgeniy Grygorovych released a statement saying: "The idea of the related NFT is to give the right to recreate its owner’s identity within the game through one of the NPCs. The person will need to come to our studio for a detailed scanning procedure and after that, we will have everything to make this person appear in the game world as one of the characters."

Despite their efforts, this didn't stop the backlash as the tweet announcing the Metaverse got ratioed and there were lots of negative reactions to this announcement which then led to GSC doubling down. On December 16, 2021, they released their initial statement apologizing for any miscommunications about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Metaverse project but noted that GSC Game World was eager to "do NFT right" with the project. However, this was deleted 30 minutes after receiving even more backlash as the fanbase of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. released their own message on a reddit post to the developers. This messaged mentioned how disappointed they are with GSC stating how they know they're only doing this to enrich the executives. They even mentioned how the gains of NFTs will be offset by the loss of sales from the game itself.

After all the backlash, GSC finally released a statement announcing their cancellation of the metaverse and anything NFT-related, mentioning how the interests of fans and players are their top priority.

Videos
Dc6h16-BTfg