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Ubisoft announced it has partnered with the HBAR Foundation to support gaming on the Hedera decentralized network.
Ubisoft got its head handed to it by hardcore gamers when it announced its first nonfungible token (NFT) in its Ghost Recon: Breakpoint game, but this deal shows the French game giant isn’t deterred when it comes to supporting decentralized technology.
Gamers objected to Ubisoft’s embrace of the new technology, which many see as a new way to deceive or milk gamers, based on the energy-efficient Tezos blockchain protocol. Hedera Hasgraph also focuses on a more efficient way and secure alternative to blockchain technology.
The HBAR Foundation was actually established to independently promote ecosystem growth with grants and support to organizations developing on the Hedera network, and now Ubisoft will become a member of the Hedera Governing Council.
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Ubisoft foresees a new ecosystem forming at the intersection of distributed ledger technology and gaming, and this initiative supports the development, growth, and launch of next-generation gaming on the Hedera network.
As a council member, Ubisoft will use its computing power to operate a node on the Hedera network, meaning that Ubisoft will use its computing power to verify transactions on the Hedera network.
“Through this initiative, Ubisoft and the HBAR Foundation are forming a deep collaborative partnership, which recognizes the value proposition the Hedera network presents for the video games industry,“ said Alex Russman, of the HBAR Foundation, in a statement. “Ubisoft has been a pioneer in its engagement with distributed ledger technology, and the decision to directly engage with THF to enhance the support it provides to entertainment and gaming innovators provides tremendous opportunities for developers, startups and users alike.”
In collaboration with the HBAR Foundation, Ubisoft is setting up a Hedera-dedicated track into the Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab. The Entrepreneurs Lab supports startups on a global scale, focusing on the future of entertainment. Together through this track, Ubisoft and the foundation will identify promising projects and startups and provide economic investment, as well as workshops and developer support, to assist in their success.
“At Ubisoft, we believe that the distributed ledger technology holds a key to the future of gaming by opening new opportunities for players to become true stakeholders of our games. The Hedera network offers a promising take on this technology, notably through its scalability, energy efficiency and innovative consensus mechanism.” said Didier Genevois, blockchain technical director at the Ubisoft Strategic Innovation Lab, in a statement. “We look forward to exploring with the Hedera ecosystem through our participation in the Governing Council.”
Today’s news comes alongside the mainnet launch of smart contracts 2.0 on the Hedera network, which with the Hedera Token Service (HTS) integration provides flexibility, low-cost fixed fees, scalability, and carbon-negative transactions, enabling significant benefits for the gaming industry beyond merely NFTs.
The HBAR Foundation fuels growth of the Hedera ecosystem by providing grants and resources for technical assistance, marketing, and business development to developers, startups, and organizations building on the network. Since open access in 2019, the public network has processed over two billion transactions generated by real-world applications.
The mission of the Strategic Innovation Lab is to help Ubisoft anticipate the future. Both a think-tank and a do-tank, the Lab analyzes emerging technological, business and societal trends in order to identify opportunities for innovation. The team also develops prototypes and pilot projects to explore new areas, in collaboration with internal and external partners. This exploratory role allows Ubisoft to get a head start in identifying innovative ideas and assessing their potential, before eventually integrating them into the company on a larger scale.
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Author: Dean Takahashi
Source: Venturebeat
