TECHNOLOGY

ZYNGA TO LAUNCH BLOCKCHAIN-BASED GAMES BY THE END OF 2022

Social game developer Zynga plans to release non-fungible token (NFT) games in the near future.

15.02.2022
BY JACKSON KEEFE
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Zynga, the creator of social game titles such as Farmville, plans to launch non-fungible tokens (NFT) and blockchain-based games later this year. Matt Wolf, the vice president of blockchain at Zynga, said that the company is currently looking at the potential of the blockchain cycle.

During an interview with Axios contributor Stephen Totilo, Wolf talked about its NFT game goals and said they intend to hire more people by the end of the year. As of now, Wolf's team consists of only 15 people, and he targets it to be a 70-to-100-people team.

The company is hiring senior positions in its blockchain sectors, such as creative director and tokenomics designer. Wolf also mentioned that the company is still thinking about when it will enter the NFT ecosystem.

"Things are really frothy right now," the VP said. "So we're looking at the cycle, and we're figuring out where we want to jump in, but we definitely have feelers out."

Zynga to enter competitive market

 
 
 
 
 
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Zynga has become more aggressive and eccentric in its approach to entering the blockchain-based gaming market. Due to the emergence of NFTs by other gaming companies, Wolf stated that Zynga would not be introducing NFT-centric features in its games.

"When they enter into one of these products, they come at it from an investor or, a whale, point of view and are interested in specific elements including yield," Wolf said. "We don't want to bring them something that they didn't ask for, and we don't want to assume that they want a super, super deep gameplay experience."

Although Zynga is behind the 8-ball when it comes to entering the NFT market, other companies like EA and Ubisoft are starting to enter the space. There's also competition from established blockchain gaming companies like Axie Infinity.

Facing gamers' criticism

 
 
 
 
 
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Some gamers believe that NFTs are just another way for a game company to extract money from its users. However, Wolf stated that the players would have the choice to opt out of any NFT plans that they decide to implement.

Despite the criticism, Wolf sees NFTs as the next step in Zynga's evolution, which will involve the use of tokenized systems. To expand its audience, Wolf said the company aims to create an integrated experience that lets players become owners.

"By creating an integrated experience that enables players to become owners in their gaming journey, our goal is to expand Zynga's audience reach and drive stronger engagement and retention," Wolf stated.

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