After their announcement, Team17 quickly cancelled their MetaWorms NFT plans. After informing “Teamsters, development partners, and Games communities and the concerns they’ve raised,” the British video game developer and publisher has issued a statement stating that it is no longer working on the NFT project MetaWorms. It went on to say that it had “made the decision to withdraw from the NFT space.”
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According to Eurogamer, the MetaWorms NFT project was intended to create “limited edition” computer-generated collectables based on the company’s Worms IP. The Reality Gaming Group, which claims to be able to mint NFTs in an environmentally friendly manner, intended to sell them. The environmental impact of NFTs due to the energy required to sustain their blockchain activity is one of the most contentious issues surrounding them. Team1
Team17 is today announcing an end to the MetaWorms NFT project.
— Team17 (@Team17) February 1, 2022
We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.
According to 7, if 100,000 Worm NFTs are sold, the energy required to register them is “equivalent to the average annual kettle consumption of just 11 households.”
Nonetheless, the backlash against the project was swift – as the environmental impact is only one of many issues associated with non-fungible tokens – and came from developers Team17 had previously worked with. Playtonic, which published Yooka Laylee Title under Team17, and Overcooked developer Ghost Town Games are among the developers who have issued statements distancing themselves from NFTs. Aggro Crab, a roguelike game developer, has issued a scathing statement stating that it will never work with Team17 again.
However, the statement urged fans not to bother Team17 staff, who were likely caught off guard as well. That is correct, according to Eurogamer. Several teams within the company were reportedly unaware of the company’s plans to release NFT collectables, and those that were were vocal in their opposition.