NFTs and play-to-earn are future of gaming industry, says EA boss

Wider adoption for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and play-to-earn games appears on the horizon as one of the biggest names in the gaming industry sees both as the future of the industry.

Speaking at an earnings call, Andrew Wilson, the CEO of the major video game company Electronic Arts (EA), said that NFT and play-to-earn games are the gaming industry’s future even though it’s still early to figure out how that would work.

Widely known as a business-oriented company that utilizes the pay-to-win model in several games, EA has not yet tried its hand at the play-to-earn games. However, EA hinted that it had set its sights on blockchain and NFTs, as a job posting from summer revealed.

The popularity of titles like Axie Infinity shows that play-to-earn products could easily find a solid player base if the product is well refined. In such games, players gain in-game digital assets by completing daily quests, defeating monsters and besting other players in arenas. Those assets have real-life monetary value and can be sold at crypto exchanges.

Wilson believes that collectible digital content will play a meaningful role in the company’s future, given the fact that it aligns perfectly with EA’s games and live services. "So, it's still early to tell. But I think we're in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more innovatively and creatively about that on a go-forward basis," he added.

Related: The Sandbox raises $93M to expand its NFT metaverse

Another big name in the gaming industry, Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft, recently shared that it has intentions for investment in and adoption of blockchain-centric gaming companies on the platform. Ubisoft was also one of the participants in NFT game developer Animoca Brands’ $65 million funding round.