Ubisoft unveiled Quartz on Tuesday, a move into the world of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs as they’re most commonly known. Quartz will be an NFT platform for its games when it launches on December 9, with the first game set to support the platform being Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
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In essence, players will be able to unlock limited-edition cosmetic items (called “Digits” in Quartz) that will have their own unique serial number that will be visible on the item. However, these numbers are quite small so they are visible in theory, but only players truly inspect the item. The introduction of Quartz is what Ubisoft is calling the “next step” in its exploration of blockchain technology, and is something the company hopes to continue building upon.
“Our long-term efforts led us to understand how blockchain’s decentralized approach could genuinely make players stakeholders of our games, in a way that is also sustainable for our industry, placing back into their hands the value they generate through the time they spend, the items they buy or the content they create online,” said Nicolas Pouard, VP of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab. “Ubisoft Quartz is the first building block in our ambitious vision for developing a true metaverse. And it can’t come to life without overcoming blockchain’s early-form limitations for gaming, including scalability and energy consumption.”
Ubisoft also claims that this method is energy efficient and uses Tezos that requires less energy than other blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Blockchain Technical Director at Ubisoft Didier Genevois stated that this was a key part of why Ubisoft chose Tezos.
Much like any other NFTs, the Digit will be tied to your Ubisoft Connect username, creating a chain of ownership that allows players to see who has owned any given cosmetic item they receive. In order to make sure actual players are earning the items, Ubisoft Quartz is currently only available to players who:
- Play Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint on Ubisoft Connect for Windows PC
- Reach at least the XP Level 5 in the game
- Are at least 18 years old
To start, three Digits will be available when Quartz launches this week: a Wolves skin for the game’s M4A1 Tactical rifle, a helmet, and a pair of pants. These Digits will all be given to players for free via “drops,” with a drop happening on December 9, December 12, and December 15. Ubisoft has said other drops are planned for early 2022, with more details to come at a later date.
