S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is the latest video game to adopt blockchain technology and NFTs. Players will be able to spend cryptocurrency to get unique items, as well as scan themselves into the dystopian action game as a non-playable character (NPC).
The news comes just a week after Ubisoft announced its own NFT integration, called Ubisoft Quartz, which will bring NFTs into Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2‘s blockchain integration is much more in-depth, though it raises more questions as well.
The new features are part of a program called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Metaverse, which is hosted on NFT platform DMarket. GSC Game World CEO Evgeniy Grygorovych, the game’s publisher, describes the project as the “first AAA game with a unique meta experience.” A press release notes that the feature will “use blockchain technology to let the community own a piece of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.”
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Metaverse will begin auctioning off NFT drops in January, and users can start registering sometime this month. Another “secretive” drop will happen in February. It’s not exactly clear what players will be buying. A press release mentions that they can get unique items that won’t effect gameplay or give players an advantage. They can be traded even before the game launches in April.
DMarket notes that the items will be able to travel across chains and platforms. It notes that they’ll be usable in at least one other game from GSC Game World. The marketplace says it’s working with other publishers to make purchased items usable in more games.
The more unique aspect of this is that drops will give players a chance to become NPCs in the game. Those who buy a “metahuman” spot will have their likeness scanned into the game via photogrammetry. That NPC will appear in the game for all players. For now, only one metahuman spot will be available as part of the January drop. Spaces will be limited and players will be able to trade their right to become a metahuman before the game launches.
As for pricing, DMarket is tight-lipped for now. Bid info will be revealed alongside additional auction details. DMarket and GSC Game World will donate a chunk of the profits received to charity as part of a social responsibility program.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl launches on April 28, 2022, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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