Ubisoft, the renowned publisher behind blockbuster franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance, has stepped into the NFT gaming space with its latest title, Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, launched this Wednesday.
The game is built on the Oasys blockchain network and offers a free-to-play, tactical strategy experience for PC users through the Ubisoft Connect platform. Players engage in turn-based battles, assembling teams of fantasy-themed digital characters to face off against other players in strategic combat.
Anyone can join in and play Champions Tactics without needing to own NFTs, using provided “ethereal champions”—non-NFT digital characters—available for unranked battles and a limited number of ranked matches. Players can also earn more non-NFT characters by completing various in-game quests.
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In addition to the non-NFT options, Ubisoft released 75,000 NFT-based champions, minted on the Oasys blockchain. These NFTs can be traded on secondary marketplaces, with current prices starting around $10 worth of OAS tokens. Unlike their non-NFT counterparts, NFT champions can be used without any play restrictions in ranked matches and come with additional rewards. Players have the option to create new champions by combining existing NFTs, each featuring unique visual traits and attributes that influence gameplay.
Late in 2023, Ubisoft also introduced a collection of Ethereum-based profile picture NFTs (PFPs) inspired by Champions Tactics. Owners of these Warlords NFTs gain extra perks within the game, and the PFPs currently trade for about $85 worth of ETH on secondary markets.
Ubisoft’s venture into blockchain gaming is not new. The company has been exploring the space for years, supporting various blockchain ecosystems and Web3 startups. In 2021, it introduced in-game NFTs on the Tezos network for Ghost Recon Breakpoint, marking its early adoption of blockchain technology in gaming.
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Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles represents Ubisoft’s first full-scale NFT game, but the company has more in store. They recently revealed plans for Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E., a project based on their Netflix series, which draws from the Far Cry and Rayman universes. This upcoming title will be hosted on the Ethereum layer-2 network, Arbitrum, with a collection of 10,000 NFTs to be distributed via the Magic Eden marketplace.
With Champions Tactics, Ubisoft is positioning itself at the forefront of the intersection between traditional gaming and blockchain technology, expanding its reach into the rapidly evolving Web3 gaming space.
