GSC Game World cancels NFT plans for Stalker 2

GSC Game World has dropped “everything related to NFTs” related to Stalker 2 after criticism a day after the announcement. The company previously posted a message that followed criticism of miscommunication.

GSC Game World makes in a short statement announced decision to end NFTs in Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. The company said the decision was based on feedback it received on the plans: “The interest of fans and players is our top priority.”

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian developer announced that it wants to make non-fungible tokens part of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, together with nft platform DMarket. GSC Game World announced three NFTs that would make owners an NPC in the game. The NFTs to be auctioned would become optional and have no impact on gameplay, the company tried to clarify after criticism.

Kotaku describes that the studio released an even more extensive response after the initial, in the studio’s words, “miscommunication,” but the criticism continued. Under the original plan, the company wanted to auction three Metahuman tokens in January, followed by more NFTs in February. The plan was criticized on Reddit, among others. Critics called it a form of fraud and another step in the wrong direction after microtransactions.

Stalker 2 will be released on April 28, 2022. The game will be available for Xbox Series X and S and PCs. The game will also be part of Xbox Game Pass. The game will run on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.