According to French financial publication Les Échos, software giant Ubisoft is exploring potential blockchain applications in gaming. The move to blockchain is said to give the gaming firm a competitive edge in the gaming world.

Ubisoft Blockchain Applications in Gaming

Ubisoft has allegedly been exploring blockchain applications for months under the radar.

And now it has already established one particular use for the technology that would serve as a lucrative edge. As Les Échos describes, Ubisoft plans to place intra-game virtual objects onto the blockchain and then monetize them. These virtual objects could be character accessories, clothing, weapons, etc.

Effectively, the Ubisoft team is in the advanced stages of creating a blockchain-based marketplace for in-game items. This means that gamers can actually purchase accessories and items within the game using the blockchain and cryptocurrency.

As the publication states further:

“The idea is to give a digital existence on the blockchain to the ‘items’ (accessories) available in video games; content that publishers monetize.”

Epic Games’ Fortnite

The idea has been likened to Epic Games’ successful video game Fortnite—which is free to download but gamers can buy virtual add-ons and accessories to equip their characters with.

But using the blockchain takes this model further as it “preserves gamers’ digital property rights.”

Les Échos notes:

“When you buy a costume on Fortnite, your investment is lost, the accessory is locked in the game. If we use the blockchain, we give a physical existence to a digital element.”

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As stated, the Ubisoft team is said to be already in the advanced stage of development, and now rumors say that it will use the Ethereum blockchain to implement it. This means that gamers would likely use any ERC-20 token for purchasing the intra-game items.

It remains to be seen whether Ubisoft would launch its blockchain-based marketplace for in-game items in an existing game to a brand new one. And when we are to expect a launch also remains undisclosed.