Developers of Team17-published games slam Worms NFT plans
"We will not be working with them on future titles."
Indie developers with games published by Team17 have reacted in fury to yesterday's announcement of Worms collectible NFTs.
Ghost Town Games, developer of Overcooked, one of Team17's most popular titles, released a statement via Twitter this afternoon saying it did not support NFTs due to their "environmental and social cost".
Aggro Crab, developer of Team17-published roguelike Going Under, went further. "We believe NFTs cannot be environmentally friendly, or useful, and really are just an overall fucking grift," it wrote, adding that it would never work with Team17 again.
Both statements also included a message that Team17 fans should not harass employees or other developers working on Team17-published titles about yesterday's news.
"This decision seems to have taken everyone off guard and likely came from the very top," Aggro Crab wrote.
Yesterday, Eurogamer reported that many within Team17 had been blindsided by the company's Worms NFT reveal - while others had heard of the project and voiced their disapproval, only for it to be announced anyway.
"Hey there," Ghost Town wrote. "We at Ghost Town Games just wanted to reassure you all that Overcooked (and any of our future games) will never engage with NFTs.
"We don't support NFTs. We think they carry too great an environmental and social cost.
"We also want to ask folk to be kind when voicing their concerns to their friendly neighbourhood community managers."
"We at Aggro Crab condemn Team17's decision to produce and engage with NFTs," Aggro Crab wrote. "We believe NFTs cannot be environmentally friendly, or useful, and really are just an overall fucking grift.
"Please do not harass employees at Team17 or the devs under their umbrella, as this decision seems to have taken everyone off guard and likely came from the very top.
"Needless to say, we will not be working with them on future titles, and encourage other indie developers to do the same unless this decision is reversed.
"I fucking hate it here."
Fellow UK company Playtonic, developer of Yooka-Laylee and a rival publisher of indie games under its Playtonic Friends label, also stuck its oar in.
Playtonic will not release NFTs "in any aspect of our business now or in future," the company wrote. "Nor do we endorse the use of NFTs in the wider world."
Reaction to the reveal of Worms NFTs was swift and extremely negative. Team17 itself subsequently clarified that the initiative would not continue into its games themselves.
"Team17 is licensing 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," a Team17 spokesperson told Eurogamer yesterday.
"Team17 has no plans to introduce NFTs or play-to-earn NFT mechanics into any of its indie games label titles."