Players of Sotrybook Brawl, a free-to-play card game that looks exactly like Hearthstone but is actually self-propelled, has recently called for the game to be taken down from Steam. This is not because the game balance is unsatisfactory to players, but because Picture Book Brawl was acquired by a virtual currency company.
Virtual currency exchange FTX US announced last week that it had acquired Good Luck Games, the developer of Picture Book Brawl, and the new owners were unabashed about the game's future intentions. FTX said the acquisition was "an opportunity to be a pioneer in the proper integration of gaming and virtual currency transactions."
In a video released after the acquisition was announced, Good Luck Games founder Matt Place said the acquisition meant the studio had increased funding, but he didn't know how blockchain technology would be integrated into the Picture Book Brawl game, except that it would be "ethical" and "will create fun for players." Many players don't believe in the guarantees of these companies.
FTX has previously noted in a press release that Picture Book Brawl has "accumulated thousands of positive reviews" on Steam. A week later, the game's recent reviews have turned to "bad reviews" and all reviews have become "mixed reviews.". Of the 710 user reviews posted in the last 30 days, only 17% are positive.
One player who played Picture Book Brawl for 67.2 hours commented: "It used to be one of the best auto-combat games, but virtual currency was a scam to get fools to drain their wallets, and unfortunately this game was acquired to advance this process." "Most of the negative reviews are the same: players still love the game, but will abandon it because the game will introduce virtual currency trading.
One player who played the game for more than 900 hours said, "It's a great game... Until they turn it all NFT. ”
Some reviews also suggest that Steam should remove it from the platform. V and FTX have not announced the future of the game on Steam for the time being, but the anticipation that it will be taken down is not unfounded speculation: Steam rules explicitly prohibit "the release of applications that are built or allowed to trade virtual currencies or NFTs based on blockchain technology." So if Picture Book Brawl goes in this direction as FTX plans, it's likely to be re-censored by V.