UPDATED 09:02 EDT / NOVEMBER 21 2019

BLOCKCHAIN

Ubisoft joins Ultra’s blockchain testnet as an infrastructure partner and block producer

Next-generation games distribution platform Ultra announced today that Ubisoft Inc., the big developer, publisher and distributor of video games, will become the first major gaming company to join its blockchain distributed ledger.

Ubisoft it doing so as a corporate block producer during a trial period on Ultra’s testnet. Block producers provide infrastructure for validating transactions that happen on Ultra’s blockchain. Such transactions include the creation of in-game assets, ownership transfers between players and payments.

“Ubisoft’s rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Far Cry,’ is a testament to their dedication to creating quality content for all,” said Nicolas Gilot, founder and co-chief executive of Ultra. “Their years-long dedication to exploring blockchain technology ensures they have the knowledge and skills to be excellent block producers.”

When it comes to games, blockchain technology can be used to provide actual ownership of virtual items to players. That’s possible because once an item is recorded to the blockchain, its ownership is recorded with cryptographic keys that are needed to transact ownership of that entity. The holder of those cryptographic keys can prove ownership of the item and can transfer that item.

Blockchain technology has also been used as the basis for the creation of currencies, the most prominent example is bitcoin, which has a total market capitalization of $153.9 billion at today’s price. It’s possible to make exchanges and payment transactions using a blockchain.

“Our team at the Strategic Innovation Lab strongly believes that all blockchain use cases that bring value to players are important to support, and Ultra offers a solution that does just that,” said Ubisoft Blockchain Initiative Director Nicolas Pouard. “During this first trial period of collaboration, we hope to help them in bringing it to a larger scale and experiment with the possibilities this opens up for the industry.”

Blockchain platforms for the gaming industry have focused on providing distribution and payment mechanisms that make it easier for developers and publishers to distribute and monetize games as well as give players more control over their ownership. Examples include gaming assets blockchain Enjin, turn-based game tracking ledger Chimaera, game item tracking blockchain platform HashCash Consultants LLC, and tradable card games such as Spells of Genesis from EverDreamSoft LLC, SkyWeaver from Horizon Blockchain Games Inc. and Gods Unchained from Immutable.

“As major publishers and developers in the games industry adopt blockchain, the very nature of the industry will change,” Gilot told SiliconANGLE in an interview.

Ultra continues outreach to other big publishers and developers in the gaming industry with a focus on increasing adoption for blockchain technology. He believes the benefits are clear and present and will drive fundamental change across the industry.

“All of the companies we present this to are excited to see new revenue streams as well as more transparent accounting, but the potential for new gameplay, new genres and improved game design are all also important features for them,” said Gilot. “Ubisoft recognized immediately the impact this has not only on their revenue but on the relationship they gain with their players. For the first time, players are able to interact with major brands and franchises in a rewarding way — quite literally.”

As for Ubisoft, although Pouard told SiliconANGLE that the company has no immediate plans to incorporate blockchain technology, he did assert that the technology’s impact on the gaming industry and potential for added value for players was a driving factor in joining Ultra’s trial.

“As world creators, our ultimate goal is to allow players to become stakeholders of their games,” Pouard said. “In that sense, we see blockchain as a tool to empower them with an unprecedented level of involvement. We believe it could bring our relationship with them to a whole new level, enabling them to truly rise as the content creators they already are, but also to transform their relationship with their peers, where trust between them will become tangible through blockchain and will enable new kinds of interactions within communities.”

The launch date for the mainnet of Ultra has not yet been announced, but Ubisoft will start contributing to the testnet before year’s end. If the trial period is successful, Ubisoft will become a launch partner for Ultra’s blockchain infrastructure when it becomes generally available.

“We’re on a mission to shake up the gaming industry by placing power back into the hands of developers and players,” added Gilot.

Image: Ultra

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU