District 9 director Neill Blomkamp is making a video game! I knew that. But what I didn’t know is it’s one of those blockchain / NFT games.
Sigh.
This evening’s The Future Games Show ended with a fancy CGI trailer showing off the world of Off the Grid, a free-to-play third-person shooter battle royale from new developer Gunzilla Games.
The trailer, below, is very Neill Blomkamp, with sci-fi soldiers in super serious combat mode. Yes, the faces have uncanny valley written all over them, but I’m getting a District 9 vibe and that’s all good with me.
Gunzilla insists it will never sell NFTs directly to players or hide progression behind a paywall, promising “trading is entirely optional”.
“We are striving to provide players with complete freedom in every detail of OTG, and with each step of its gameplay,” Gunzilla boss Vlad Korolev comments in the note to press.
“In OTG additionally to the core gameplay, players will be able to own and trade their in-game items with other players. As well as assure players that their hard-earned items remain theirs to keep, no matter what.
“In today’s free-to-play games, if you pay for something, it isn’t yours. You do not, and cannot, own anything. Anyone can read the EULA of any game to verify this. If you’re banned, for example, any item can be taken away from you, even if your ban is accidental. When you stop playing any free-to-play game, the money you’ve put in also disappears.