Some players of Activision Blizzard games recently got a survey from the game company gauging interest in its various IPs and products. However, fans have concerns regarding the content of some of these questions, and they were left scratching their heads when the survey dumped them out on the Blizzard game store once it was finished.
The survey was hosted on YouGov, a British market research and data analytics firm. The survey itself was sent to select Blizzard players, and it asked them questions ranging from how frequently they played various Blizzard games to which genre of games they played the most.
One section in particular asked players to share how interested they would be in the introduction of new technologies in Activision Blizzard products. While some of these topics are things that have been requested by many fans, such as cross-play, the survey also asked about several polarizing technologies, such as play-to-earn cryptocurrency games and the implementation of NFTs.
Bizarrely, when the lengthy survey was completed, rather than thanking the surveyor for their time or closing the window, Blizzard’s survey redirected them to its online store, Battle.net. This left survey-takers with their heads spinning from the whiplash of being brought there of all places, and it left a bad taste in the mouths of many, already soured by the subject of the questions.
NFTs have been a hot topic for the last several years since they emerged from the sea of cryptocurrencies. The supposedly-unreplicatable technology has caught a good deal of traction, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and has been implemented into AAA games like Ghost Recon Breakpoint with little success. However, due to the environmental cost of minting NFTs, the inflation caused by the demand for computer parts for mining rigs, and the penchant cryptocurrencies have for enabling fraud, few fans want them anywhere close to the gaming industry.
Though the survey does not mean Blizzard is pursuing plans to implement NFTs into its games, many fans are concerned since it is entertaining the idea enough to put it on the survey in the first place. Activision Blizzard is still mired in controversies surrounding the sexual assault and discrimination lawsuits from 2021, leading many to wonder why it would entertain such a controversial topic in the first place. With the announcement of World of Warcraft’s next expansion in just a few days, the cautious optimism some of these players had is now mixed with trepidation as to what else Blizzard may have in store for them in the future.