As if Palworld‘s controversial clash with Nintendo wasn’t drama enough, the creature-catching genre has a newcomer with an even bigger problem. With its vibrant, cartoonish world and catalog of collectible creatures, AneeMate gives serious Palworld vibes. Its extraction shooter gameplay, however, resembles Escape from Tarkov more. It’s an untested genre mash-up that could be the next big thing as easily as the next big bomb. Before you get your hopes too high, however, we need to talk about the worm in this soufflé: NFTs. QORPO Game Studio has something to sell you.
Meet the NFT Creatures of AneeMate
The gameplay featured in the new AneeMate trailer includes third-person combat, gliders, and a variety of weird and wonderful monsters. Mix that with the tension of an extraction shooter, and it’s the kind of game I’d dream of. If it weren’t for the next thing, that is. AneeMates, characters, and skins can all be minted as NFT. It will include a native NFT market, and every player will get their own QORPO wallet. Though the game will be free-to-play, and you won’t technically have to use the blockchain, AneeMate arguably only exists to get you to do so. This is Oblivion Horse Armor 2.0.
Ambition is a rocket that can fly you straight to Game of the Year. It can also explode on the launchpad. AneeMate is on track for the latter, and crypto is the reason why. QORPO isn’t the only developer exploring the crypto route, however. Ubisoft recently launched its own blockchain game (Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles), proving that some of the industry’s biggest hitters are interested in exploring the cryptocurrency and NFT space. Though Palworld and AneeMate look strikingly similar, their thematic and marketing differences couldn’t be much more stark.
Pals, Not Friends
According to AneeMate‘s Epic Store page, your goal in the game isn’t just to catch AneeMates but also free them from slavery and extortion. If you think creating a legion of cute digital critters for the express purpose of selling their image is a weird way to combat extortion, you’re not the only one. Despite its gameplay featuring forced labor and (arguably) animal cruelty, Pocketpair’s commercial practices have been much more mild. It feels like AneeMate is taking the opposite approach, using in-game themes of liberation to distract from real-life business practices that accomplish the opposite.
From premium DLC and season passes to microtransactions and early access, the gaming industry has turned every stone in its search for new ways to monetize games. Virtual Assets are about much more than Bored Ape Yacht Club PFPs, and the years to come are going to see more crypto and NFT games, not fewer. If you think gamers would never take the bait, the Diablo Immortal whales would like a word. As for Depresso and I, we’ll be in Sakurajima, where the exploitation industry is only pretend.
