Square Enix Stock Soars 7% On NFT Plans Despite Massive Backlash Online

Square Enix received a tremendous amount of backlash on Twitter and other social media platforms over the weekend after releasing a blockchain enthusiasts, were happy to hear this, but the response by most gamers were universally negative. Despite this though, investors cheered the move by sending Square Enix's stock up over 7% in Tokyo today.

While NFTs may infuriate gamers, investors clearly see an opportunity here, especially since indie gaming companies that launched blockchain games in the past have seen their valuations skyrocket. Axie Infinity for example, the largest blockchain 'play to earn' game is worth billions of dollars despite having a relatively small playerbase. The game's Axie tokens sport an insane $25 billion marketcap (That's 4x Square Enix's market cap).

Ember Sword, a much more obscure blockchain gaming project, raised over $203 million in virtual land sales last year despite not having any actual game fully developed yet.

No word on exactly what Square Enix's NFT / Blockchain projects will encom, but given that the company's stock price is soaring after just 'talking' about NFTs, I think the company is going to dedicate resources on making some kind of blockchain project. I remain highly skeptical of any crypto gaming project and caution readers to be wary as well.

For the time being, the only 'real' crypto game seems to be Learn more about Mir 4 here.

Further Reading (All the backlash): Final Fantasy XIV Players are Begging Square Enix to Cancel its NFT Plans, The Japanese Internet Reacts To Square Enix's Crypto Plans, Square Enix's NFT Plans Are Being Roasted Mercilessly by Fans