Work With Indies does not support roles in blockchain and NFT gaming. We, along with the membership of our Discord server and the larger community of “indie games”, are, on average, uncomfortable and skeptical of NFTs in games.

Many in the indie dev community have been vocally anti-NFT and have applauded Valve's recent banning of NFT games on Steam as well as the Discord CEO backtracking on crypto integration.

From this article, you can see that game developers that had previously planned NFTs are pulling them completely and Ubisoft's launch has not created much demand.

In some ways, this stance is similar to indies who are anti-Free-to-Play, rejecting many of the gameplay mechanics, games, and companies that make them due to what is perceived to be unethical and manipulative practices. While Free-to-Play has created multiple billion dollar companies, many prominent indies have chosen to opt-out of the massive revenue opportunity on principle.

Concerns over blockchain and NFTs are related to the impact on the environment, a lack of trust due to repeated NFT scams and theft (particularly against artists, of whom indie games is home to many), and a general questioning and/or lack of understanding the value and necessity (let alone feasibility [1][2][3]) of blockchain or NFTs in games.

As we have yet to see concrete examples that represent those blockchain or NFT games and their related career opportunities in a positive light, nor address and alleviate ours or the indie games community’s concerns, we appreciate and feel that the skepticism is warranted.

It would seem that the blockchain game ecosystem may need some more time to mature. We may need to witness (and play) more positive outcomes and see fewer bad actors before blockchain game developers can earn trust and turn the current narrative around. If you are such a developer, we are hopeful that we will have in you and your team an aspirational example that may one day ask us to think differently.

A note on proof-of-work vs proof-of-stake:

Regardless of the how the conversation around blockchain and games evolve, Work With Indies is unlikely to support games and studios that utilize proof-of-work due to what we perceive to be egregious energy consumption in a time where we should all be collectively scaling back as we stare in the face of a global climate emergency.

We are aligned with the IGDA in their call for all “if necessary” blockchain game developers to utilize proof-of-stake algorithms (and only those that are as energy efficient as or better than the technology and consumption that it replaces).

An additional comment on scams:

Today, the crypto industry is fraught with scams. We don't want to play any part in exposing our audience to the potential harm of those scams.

While we trust that there are well-intentioned developers in this space, we don't know how to tell good actors apart from the bad. Further, it seems that even blockchain experts operating in good faith are frequently falling victim themselves while unknowingly exposing their audiences to extreme loss up unto the point of financial ruin.

As the water does not yet seem fine, we feel it is prudent to stay out.

Work With Indies is an indie-friendly job board and inclusive community for people who ❤️ indie games. Follow us on Twitter, join the conversation on our Discord, and start a new career making something that the rest of us cannot wait to play!