Team17 has announced that it is putting an end to its Worms NFT project, just a few days after it was initially announced.
This follows an immense backlash from players and developers with working relationships with Team17, as many developers said they would end their partnerships with the publisher over the project.
“We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities,” began a tweet from yesterday (February 1), “and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.”
Team17 is today announcing an end to the MetaWorms NFT project.
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.
— Team17 (@Team17) February 1, 2022
Before the project was cancelled, Team17 did make it clear in a statement to NME that these NFTs would not intrude on any of the company’s games, saying:
“Team17 is licencing the Worms brand to our newest third-party partner so they can produce collectible digital artwork based on one of the most beloved IPs in indie games, in a similar way to already available physical merchandise. Team17 has no plans to introduce NFTs or play-to-earn NFT mechanics into any of its indie games label titles.”
The developers behind Overcooked, Moving Out, Going Under and Greak: Memories Of Azure all published statements denouncing the NFTs.
Multiple anonymous sources at Team17 also told NME that they were not made aware of the Worms NFT project until it was announced yesterday.
Announced on January 31, the MetaWorms collection was to use a “side-chain” of the Ethereum mainnet, and Team17 were claiming they would be “environmentally friendly”.
The cancellation of follows the recent announcement from voice actor Troy Baker, who said he would be ending his relationship with an NFT company “after careful consideration”.
In other news, David Guetta is set to perform at a DJ party in Roblox this week. The shows start on February 4.
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