One of the most successful video game properties of all time Grand Theft Auto, would be a natural addition to the metaverse. The game is already an extensive open world, much like what people envision a metaverse to be.
In fact, it can be argued that it already exists in its own metaverse right now, with the only missing piece being blockchain integration. Players can earn money inside the game, but those ‘tokens’ are essentially worthless everywhere else.
So, is there a future where GTA becomes a real Play-to-Earn (P2E) game? Where tokens earned in the game can be traded for real money on Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)?
Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games – the makers of Grand Theft Auto, are not in a rush to make this a reality.
Speaking to investors, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that there is opportunity in NFTs and blockchain, but the current environment is more of a speculation.
“We believe in rare goods, we believe in collectibles. The concern we have is that there’s a speculation going on.
We want to make sure that consumers always have a good experience every time they engage with our properties and losing money on a speculation is not a good experience, so we’re going to stay away from speculation. However, we’re highly convinced there’s an opportunity for NFTs to fit with Take-Two’s offerings in the future.“
Strauss Zelnick, CEO Take-Two
While not ruling out the possibility of GTA and other properties in their catalog taking the metaverse route, it is clear that fans will have to wait a while.
Right now among the big game developers, it appears as though Ubisoft is the only one moving ahead with metaverse plans at speed.
Other game developers like Konami, EA Sports and Team17 have shown interest, but backlash from their fans has forced them to delay or cancel plans.
