Ubisoft ‘rewards’ employees with a Ghost Recon Breakpoint NFT hat

Did you keep the receipt? Oh, it IS a receipt…

In a story far too believable to be untrue, Ubisoft has gifted some of the publisher’s employees, concerned at the studio’s direction, with in-game NFTs to celebrate the anniversary of the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon franchise. Thanks, you shouldn’t have… You really shouldn’t.

According to a report from Kotaku, the gifts of in-game hats for rubbish shooter Ghost Recon: Breakpoint were handed out, in all places, at a workshop specifically designed for employees to voice their concerns about Ubisoft’s direction. According to Kotaku, one Ubisoft employee likened the motion to “staff saying ‘We hate this crypto stuff,’ and Ubisoft responding with, ‘OK, come get some.’”

Ubisoft has recently come under fire for doubling down on the controversial blockchain technology. Ubisoft executive Nicolas Pouard raised ire on social media last month when they stated that NFTs being implemented in Ubisoft titles is nothing less than a massive beneficiary to its customers, going as far as to candidly state that the player base just “don’t get it“. The bullish comments came after Ubisoft launched its in-game blockchain brand, Quartz, and nobody gave a shit.

Pourad’s statements also apparently irked employees within Ubisoft itself, who reached out to news outlets or took to social media to publicly distance themselves from the company’s decision. Having then been handed NFTs as a reward — not to mention the pressure faced by Ubisoft employees from far more important struggles — it’s hard not to feel the frustration of its hard-working development teams.

Chris Moyse

Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse