Wildworks Faces Fan Backlash Over Crypto Gaming Integration

WildWorks Faces Backlash Over Crypto Gaming Venture

Just under a year ago, WildWorks, the studio behind the popular children’s game Animal Jam, introduced Feral, a game targeted towards Gen Z teenagers. Recently, the company has drawn criticism from a significant portion of its user base due to its decision to leverage Feral’s technology and assets for a new metaverse game, Cinder, which will be powered by the Solana blockchain.

Fan Concerns and the Shift to Crypto

The announcement of Cinder has been met with a largely negative response from WildWorks’ established fanbase. Players, already apprehensive about the development speed and incomplete features of Feral, are now expressing worries about the future of that game, given the company’s focus has shifted towards a crypto-based gaming experience. Furthermore, concerns regarding the environmental impact of crypto gaming and NFTs have been voiced – issues that WildWorks CEO Clark Stacey previously shared.

In a recent post, Stacey addressed these concerns directly, acknowledging his prior belief that technologies like NFTs were incompatible with environmental conservation and lacked value for gamers.

Blockchain Technology and Environmental Impact

However, Stacey explained that his perspective has evolved as he gained a deeper understanding of blockchain advancements beyond Ethereum. While Ethereum, similar to Bitcoin, relies on an energy-intensive “proof of work” system, alternative blockchains are emerging that utilize the more efficient “proof of stake” validation method – examples include Wax, Cardano, and Solana.

“Transactions on these blockchains can be more efficient than the credit card networks we currently use for payments in many of our games,” Stacey stated. “Combined with WildWorks’ ongoing efforts to offset and reduce our carbon emissions, we are confident that our use of the Solana blockchain will not increase the company’s carbon footprint.”

Cinder: Playable NFTs and Marketplace

Cinder players will utilize the Solana blockchain to acquire “playable NFTs” – the Cinder Fae. These will consist of 11,111 exclusive avatars created by the WildWorks team. The NFTs will feature approximately 150 unique characteristics across nine categories, ensuring each avatar is distinct and non-replicable, as detailed on the Cinder website.

Players will be able to link their NFT avatars to Cinder upon minting to participate in the free-form MMO’s community and explore the virtual world. The minting process is scheduled for early January. Over the subsequent year, players will have the opportunity to transform game-created content – such as avatars, play spaces, and party rooms – into NFTs on Solana, which can then be bought and sold through Cinder’s marketplace.

Beyond Environmental Concerns: Broader Criticisms

While Stacey addressed environmental concerns, fan frustration extends beyond this issue. Many are skeptical of current crypto ecosystems, citing their potential for money laundering, the ease with which NFTs can facilitate art theft, and security vulnerabilities associated with “altcoins.”

Stacey acknowledged the validity of these criticisms, emphasizing that blockchain technology is still in its early stages and that regulation and further development may address these issues. He also highlighted the desire of some creators to engage with these new technologies to contribute to solutions that benefit the creator community.

Creator Revenue and Platform Limitations

Stacey pointed to the challenges creators face in profiting from their work on platforms like Roblox. He explained that Roblox doesn’t directly create the engaging gameplay experiences, yet retains a significant portion of creator earnings – 75% – due to its control over the platform and ownership of user-generated content.

“If I create a really cool avatar in Roblox and someone wants to buy it from me, I can’t sell it to them without the platform’s intervention,” Stacey wrote. (The revenue split on Roblox is complex, with mobile app stores also taking a cut, but the core point about developers receiving a small share remains accurate.)

Cinder’s Marketplace and Revenue Sharing

Cinder’s NFTs aim to address this issue by allowing users to tokenize and trade their creations, retaining a larger share of the revenue. Stacey stated that Cinder’s marketplace will enable players to keep 96% of each transaction, with Cinder taking a 4% commission.

A Clash of Visions and Community Backlash

Despite these explanations, many Feral fans remain opposed to crypto and NFTs and are actively expressing their dissatisfaction. This resistance may stem from the perception of WildWorks as a company primarily focused on children’s games, making its foray into the crypto-gaming space seem incongruous.

However, WildWorks signaled its intention to expand beyond the kids’ market with Feral, which was designed for teenagers. Cinder targets an even older demographic – adults – aligning with the audience of other crypto games like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, or Blankos Block Party.

Financial Realities and Feral’s Future

Ultimately, WildWorks requires revenue to sustain its gaming ambitions, including Feral. Stacey revealed that the company has invested over two years and $6 million into Feral’s development, but it has yet to achieve self-sustainability.

Stacey admitted to TechCrunch that during Feral’s Early Access period, it didn’t achieve the desired product-market fit. “We reached a point where we couldn’t continue investing in it at the current level and remain financially stable,” he explained. “We didn’t shut the game down, however, because there was a passionate community still playing, and we hoped to find either a new publishing home for it or other means to continue development.”

Cinder as a Potential Lifeline, and Fan Protests

Cinder could provide that “other means” if successful, but ironically, Feral’s survival is now threatened by the fan backlash. Players are threatening to abandon the game and cancel their Animal Jam subscriptions in protest.

For some, WildWorks’ move into crypto gaming was the final straw, prompting them to voice grievances about other issues, including perceived shortcomings in WildWorks’ moderation systems, hacking incidents, data breaches, and the company’s past use of culturally insensitive headdresses in Animal Jam – an issue Stacey acknowledged as an “ignorant” choice. (The company engaged with Native American players, apologized, and agreed to discontinue the production and promotion of those virtual items, though existing items were not removed from player inventories.)

The Challenges of Blockchain Adoption

The conflict between WildWorks’ business needs, its vision for the future of gaming, and the reactions of its loyal fans exemplifies the difficulties companies face when embracing blockchain and crypto technologies. This challenge is compounded by the negative perceptions often associated with the industry – the “thieves and grifters and bad art,” and the lack of “regulatory guardrails,” as Stacey described it.

The Future of Feral Remains Uncertain

Regarding Feral, Stacey stated that if the community continues to support the game, WildWorks will explore ways to continue its development. “If they do not, we’ll announce plans to sunset it as soon as that decision is made. It has not been made to date,” he noted. “We understand that many in the Feral community are philosophically opposed to NFTs and blockchain technology in general, but while we’ve attempted to address their questions and concerns, Cinder is being designed for and marketed to a different player. They will lose nothing from the presence of assets we created for Feral also being present in Cinder.”