Editor’s take: Atari has partnered with Republic Realm on the development and launch of giftable non-fungible tokens (GFTs) that essentially combine traditional NFTs with loot boxes. Are gamers going to go for it? We’ll find out soon enough.
GFTs appear like wrapped gift boxes, but “unwrap” on a specific date to reveal a surprise. Each GFT is an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain, and the initial collection will celebrate Atari’s 50th year in business. The set of 10 GFTs will be inspired by the company’s iconic games, with each produced in a limited quantity and purchasable with a credit card or crypto.
— Atari (@atari) January 27, 2022
GFTs will be available to purchase from the GFT Shoppe starting February 1, 2022, and will be minted in common, rare and epic editions. Epic GFTs are the rarest, with less than one percent of the collection falling into this category.
Atari is no stranger to the virtual world. Back in October 2020, the company launched its own cryptocurrency, the Atari Token. The coin saw some decent growth in April-May 2021 but those gains have since been wiped out. As of writing, Atari Tokens are worth around $0.035 each.
Related reading: Ubisoft on NFTs: Gamers just ‘don’t get it’
Atari might have better luck with NFTs. The whitelist period for the NFT drop has already expired, so the only way you’ll be able to get in on the action is to try your luck starting February 1. It’s anyone’s guess as to how well they’ll do, but we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out.