Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is preventing access to the blockchain and NFT in Minecraft
Technology disruption occurs slowly at first, then suddenly. But occasionally there are clear indications that a new technology is growing to be a serious danger that the status quo can no longer ignore. When non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were outlawed in Microsoft’s Minecraft yesterday, one of those indications was noticed yesterday. There is no indication that they will be permitted to return. This not only destroyed certain NFT efforts based on Minecraft, but it also presented a strong case for NFTs in a single announcement.
The game World of Warcraft was the origin of NFTs
It’s been over ten years since this disturbance occurred. By his own admission, it was Activision Blizzard’s (NASDAQ:ATVI) World of Warcraft that “removed the damage component from my beloved warlock’s Siphon Life spell” that sparked Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH-USD), to develop his own blockchain and spark his interest in cryptocurrencies. To put it differently, Buterin was frustrated because he had no control over a centralized organization (game creator Blizzard) changing the game’s regulations.
The fact that cryptocurrencies and NFTs are immutable, or unchangeable, is one of their arguments. Nothing fundamentally recorded on the blockchain can be changed or taken away from its owner. (There is nuance in many mutable NFTs; nevertheless, for the purposes of this discussion, we will concentrate on the immutable angle.)
The rationale behind using an NFT is that nobody can take it away from you or tell you that you can’t make one for the game and sell it to somebody else in the gaming industry. One of the theories would be that gatekeepers come down with blockchain games, although that is an unrealistic picture as a developer is ultimately responsible for creating the game and establishing its rules. A new set of possible business models for developers is at least made possible by the blockchain.
Economics play a role
Since there won’t be any gatekeepers, new financial incentives will emerge. However, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) does not collect 50% of the money made from the sale of NFTs. Instead, it retains around 50% of the money made from third-party content. In addition to the technical dispute, this leads to an economic conflict between independent inventors and centrally located developers.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is within its rights to permit some items into Minecraft and prohibit others, and this tension isn’t intrinsically immoral. But in doing so, it demonstrates the argument that proponents of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have been attempting to make: centralized organizations are bad. What better approach to promote decentralization as well as the blockchain than to make an enemy of one of the greatest businesses in the world?
Disruption begins in this manner
The conflict between Minecraft and NFT and its effects on gaming should be keenly watched by Microsoft’s stockholders. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) not only owns the video game Activision Blizzard, which was, not surprisingly, the inspiration for the invention of Ethereum, but it is also purchasing it.
It’s not exactly clear how the technology or business model of a blockchain-based game will be superior to present models, but the important thing is that the developers are making an effort. And given that blockchain games are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, this poses a serious threat to Microsoft’s ambitious gaming plans.
It may be a major loss for games like Minecraft, which depend on user-generated data to generate money, if the top creators are being encouraged to investigate the blockchain. For developers, the prospect of selling NFTs and keeping all (or nearly all) of the money they make, as opposed to 50% on a centralized game like Minecraft, may also be a compelling financial incentive.
This is the beginning of disruption. Powerful organizations accidentally stretch the boundaries of their influence and steer engineers toward a fresh, disruptive platform. Perhaps better than any cryptocurrency enthusiast could have done themselves, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has now presented the argument for developers switching to the blockchain.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Rokas91
