Fortnite’s Epic Games loves NFTs now that Steam rejected them entirely

Shortly after Steam suddenly banned non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Fortnite publisher Epic Games says it’s planning to allow digital collectibles in games sold in its online store — but not the ones it makes.

The about-turn comes only weeks after Epic Games’ chief exec Tim Sweeney trashed NFTs on Twitter: “We aren’t touching NFTs as the whole field is currently tangled up with an intractable mix of scams, interesting decentralized tech foundations, and scams,” he said.

As noted by The Verge, Steam’s parent company Valve recently added crypto to its list of things that shouldn’t be published on its online marketplace.

Steam's point of view is that items have value and they don't allow items that can have real-world value on their platform. While I respect their choice, I fundamentally believe that NFTs and blockchain games are the future. It's why I started this journey with all of you.
3/4

— Age of Rust (@SpacePirate_io) October 14, 2021

NFTs in video games come in the form of collectible items such as weapons and skins.

They have a real-world value outside of the game, can be bought and sold with cryptocurrency, and ownership is recorded on a blockchain.

No NFTs in Fortnite

Epic Games told The Verge last week that it’s “open to games that support cryptocurrency or blockchain-based assets.”

Separating its own software from its store, chief exec Sweeney set out some rules for third-party developers looking to publish games through the North Carolina-based firm.

Devs hoping to sell their NFT-powered games via Epic Games’ online store will need to:

• handle their own payments (Epic Games said it won’t be accepting crypto),
• comply with relevant laws and regulations,
• clearly signpost how blockchain is used.

The Fortnite developers also highlighted games containing NFTs games should be labeled with age-appropriate ratings.

As a technology, the blockchain is just a distributed transactional database with a decentralized business model that incentivize investment in hardware to expand the database's capacity. This has utility whether or not a particular use of it succeeds or fails.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 15, 2021

The list of caveats suggests that it’s unlikely that blockchain games will feature in Epic’s online store anytime soon, as developers will need some time to adjust to the rules.

Not to mention, games are approved for sale on a case-by-case basis. According to its FAQ section, Epic operates a “Closed Beta” on-boarding procedure.

Steam, on the other hand, is less restrictive when it comes to self-publishing. Games can go live after a review period and a $100 publishing fee.

Epic Games chief now welcomes finance innovation

Epic Game’s new openness to NFTs follows earlier contradictory comments from chief exec Tim Sweeney.

In late September, Sweeney publicly rejected a pitch for a game that included in-game NFTs.

Sweeney said NFTs are riddled with scams and suggested Epic Games would be keeping blockchain games at arm’s length. In more recent tweets, Sweeney said, “we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance.”

Replied:

We aren’t touching NFTs as the whole field is currently tangled up with an intractable mix of scams, interesting decentralized tech foundations, and scams.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 27, 2021

[Read more: Inside Decentraland, where users can’t drink but they can buy blunts]

Steam is the world’s largest online distributor of video games and Epic Games’ apparent change of heart per NFTs could suggest a bid for better market share.

Epic Games already undercuts Steam by 18% on its 70-30 revenue split between developer and publisher. Epic Games’ website highlights that developers “keep 88% of the revenue from your games instead of 70%.”

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