Last week, Valve announced that Steam would not be allowing any crypto-based games and NFTs on its platform, resulting in various blockchain game developers expressing their disappointment in the company. Now, a collective of more than 26 studios has come together to issue an open letter asking Valve to reconsider its policy.
Spearheaded by the advocacy group Fight For the Future, NFT trading platform Enjin, and the Blockchain Game Alliance, the open letter directly address Valve and details why there shouldn’t be a ban on crypto-based titles on the massive distribution platform. The collective contends that using blockchain technology and web3 token-based technologies such as DAOs and NFTs can greatly enhance gaming experiences while creating new economic opportunities for both players and users. The advent of this technology would also “open up vast possibilities for users to interact, collaborate, and create tangible digital worlds and items that were previously impossible,” making games “more decentralized, democratic, interactive, [and] player focused.”
“Blockchain games are pioneering a number of new concepts that will invigorate the gaming industry for players and publishers alike,” explains the Blockchain Game Alliance’s president Sebastien Borget. “To cut off this burgeoning sector at such a crucial stage of development is to ignore the remarkable progress we have achieved this year, while creating unfair access to market for incumbents. We wish to invite an open dialogue with the people at Valve, as well as the broader mainstream gaming industry, to better understand their perspectives on the challenges ahead, and to determine how we can collaborate more effectively in future.”
Elsewhere in the gaming industry, Activision Blizzard has decided to cancel BlizzCon 2021 in light of recent controversies.
