Tim Sweeney explained why there will be no NFT in Fortnite and other Epic Games. One of the reasons is the problem of fraud in this area. He also questioned the non-interchangeability of NFT, which as a result gave rise to a discussion in social networks.Fortnite
It all started with the fact that Sweeney was approached by Eli Ben-Sasson, one of the creators of the ZK-STARK cryptographic protocol and president of StarkWare.
His company specializes in Ethereum scaling solutions, which are also used in the NFT market.
It is not known what exactly Ben-Sasson wanted to discuss with Sweeney, but he decided to answer him publicly. The CEO of Epic Games noted that the company is not interested in this area in principle. The thing is that the NFT market is full of “decentralized technology funds” and fraud.
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, 2021Sweeney later reinforced his skepticism by reacting to a picture that one of the users allegedly acquired in the form of an NFT.
This makes for a good example. I liked your tweet containing this picture, making it easy for me to access and view in the future. Does your ownership of the NFT of this picture convey more utility to you than my like conveys to me? I posit that it doesn’t.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 27, 2021Sweeney also noted that digital items can be useful — for example, he can own movies in Amazon Video or clothing skins in Fortnite.
However, the head of Epic Games expressed doubt about the very idea of non-interchangeability, which is the basis of NFT. “After all, the ownership of NFT on a “gif” and the likes on Twitter put on this “gif” seem… interchangeable,” he stressed.
As a result, Sweeney’s words sparked a discussion in the comments. Some accused him of a lack of understanding of the scope and the very essence of NFT. One of the users compared the businessman’s position with Fortnite skins — they say Epic Games earns millions by selling digital items. Their images can also be saved to other devices, but this does not give other people the right to own the original skin.
Lawyer Preston Byrne, who specializes in drafting licensing agreements in the field of NFT, advised Sweeney to study Ben-Sasson’s proposal more closely. He also noted that this technology can be used to sell in-game items without the help of third-party payment systems. But Epic Games is familiar with this problem firsthand.
Some compared Sweeney’s concerns about NFT to the “dotcom bubble” that occurred in the second half of the 90s and, in their opinion, had positive consequences for the industry. One of the users also objected to the businessman, noting: “It’s like saying, ‘We don’t use email because there is email fraud.'”
At the same time, many people supported Sweeney and suggested that the sphere just lacks large and reliable players like Epic Games who could raise confidence in NFT and bring the industry to a new level.
In the field of NFT, there are indeed many fraudulent schemes like the sale of fake art. However, The Verge believes that the reason for Sweeney’s critical attitude towards NFT lies elsewhere. Epic Games does not need to use blockchain technology to make money – the system of selling skins with the help of “V—bucks” works well enough. In addition, NFTS are not able to solve the company’s current problems like the fight against Apple and the return of Fortnite to the App Store.