Sega Withholding Its Largest Franchises From Blockchain Integration

In a statement to Bloomberg News, Sega Co-Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi said that the company will not open its largest franchises to integration with third-party blockchain projects to “avoid devaluing its content.” Sega previously began selling NFT content back in 2001, but later expressed caution due to the large negative reaction to the technology. [Thanks, Bloomberg!]

“We’re looking into whether this technology is really going to take off in this industry, after all” Utsumi told Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki, “The action in play-to-earn games is boring, what’s the point if games are no fun?” Utsumi was described as “non-committal” on whether blockchain technology will be involved with the Sega “Super Game” project, which could possibly be out in 2026.

Bloomburg cited the failure of blockchain-based Play-to-Earn games such as Axie Infinity and the recent collapse of several cryptocurrency marketplaces as being possibly behind the “cooling” of the blockchain technology’s appeal.

Despite this, Sega has not completely backed off from the idea of using Web3 in their games, and will continue to invest large amounts in blockchain and crypto-related projects. It will also be allowing the use of its franchises like Virtua Fighter and Three Kingdoms in NFT projects by external partners. Utsumi analogised the risk of the new technology to penguins plunging into ice-cold water and warned against under-estimating early adopters.

Crypto and blockchain integration has been a divisive topic within the industry. While some organisations like Square Enix and the Pokemon Company asserting commitment to the technology, others like Steam outright banned them from the platforms.