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On September 15, American video game development company Epic Games announced the official launch of Blankos Block Party on its Game Store, making it the first NFT game to be included in the platform’s Marketplace.
The beta version of Blankos Block Party was launched in 2020 by Mythical Games and has already gained more than one million players, according to its developers. The most attractive thing about this shooter game is the NFT characters and accessories, which can be traded in the in-game store.
The First NFT Game on the Epic Games Store is Based on EOSIO
The game can already be downloaded for free in the “early access” version until September 28, when the first season of the full game will be released with new visual and navigation improvements.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike most NFT games, there is no need to connect an external wallet to play, sell or buy NFTs in Blankos Block Party, as the game allows users to do it internally, although it also supports Uphold accounts.
According to Epic Games, Blankos Block Party runs on a private blockchain based on EOSIO (now Antelope), so no mining is needed to create or integrate NFTs into the Marketplace.
“Blankos Block Party is built on a private, permissioned blockchain based on the EOSIO infrastructure that uses a Proof of Authority consensus model that is more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the Proof of Work model. Minting NFTs and integrating the Marketplace via our platform does not require any mining.”
The Metaverse and NFT Games Have a Major Backer
Epic Games has been one of the few video game companies to take an optimistic stance on the metaverse and NFT games. They announced a $2 billion fund to build a metaverse as far back as last April.
Back then, Epic Games, which by the way is behind Fortnite and the Unreal Engine graphics engine, said that thanks to the proceeds from Sony and KIRKBI, it could create new experiences based on its most popular games, becoming a new competitor to Decentraland and The Sandbox.
Epic Games stands by its co-founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, who said on his Twitter account that they would welcome all games using blockchain as long as they comply with the company’s relevant laws and regulations.
Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group. Though Epic’s not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance. https://t.co/6W7hb8zJBw
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 15, 2021
Even in late July 2022, Sweeney responded negatively to some users’ requests to remove all NFT games from the Game Store after Minecraft released a statement announcing that they did not engage with this technology.
Developers should be free to decide how to build their games, and you are free to decide whether to play them. I believe stores and operating system makers shouldn’t interfere by forcing their views onto others. We definitely won’t.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 21, 2022
Moreover, as reported by CryptoPotato, Blankos Block Party will most likely not be the only NFT game published on the Epic Games Store. The studio has a partnership with the Web3 gaming company Gala Games, which is working hard to release an NFT-powered shooter very soon.