In the “early access” section of the Epic Games Store, a new crypto-based game in the style of Call of Duty called Shrapnel has been listed. 

Epic Games and the launch of the new crypto game in Call of Duty style, called Shrapnel

A new Call of Duty-style game has just been added to the list of new games coming to the Epic Games store. It’s called Shrapnel, and it’s a crypto blockchain-based game, classified in the Epic Games Store under the “early access gameplay” section.

In this section, usually, the first releases of high-profile games end up. Epic Games, the infamous developer of Fortnite, offers these companies the opportunity to release a version that allows them to create a community around the title. After that, the same game, like Sharpnel, will be able to continue developing and modifying the gaming experience.

Shrapnel will therefore compete with other crypto games like “Illuvium” and “Star Atlas”, also available on the online game store, which currently has over 230 million PC players.

Epic Games and Sharpel: the new crypto game in Call of Duty style could soon become mainstream

Due to the substantial user base of Epic Games, being able to launch on this store could become a milestone for new crypto games to quickly become mainstream. 

In general, the new crypto game in Call of Duty style, Sharpnel, seems to be set in a dystopian world. Neon Machine, the studio behind the project, has defined it as a “AAA first-person extraction shooter”. 

Not only that, on Sharpnel, players will be able to customize every aspect of the game, from characters and weapons to maps. At the moment, it seems that the new crypto game is involving its community in every phase of development until the launch of its free-to-play game in 2025. 

In this regard, Mark Long, CEO of Shrapnel, stated the following:

“Our execution of early access gameplay puts players directly in the driver’s seat, helping us steer towards a AAA quality blockbuster first-person shooter game”

Last October, the Shrapnel team raised over $20 million in a Series A funding, with Polychain Capital leading the round. Shrapnel already has its own native token SHRAP which has a market cap of nearly $50 million. 

The first NFT game on Epic Games

It was September 2022, when Epic Games added its first NFT game to its store, Blankos Block Party by Mythical Games.

The NFT game was launched in 2020 and would have accumulated over a million players in those two years. Blankos Block Party is a multiplayer game focused on unique digital collectible toys, the Blankos NFTs, which can be purchased, upgraded, and sold within the game. 

Illuvium was added to Epic Games only last November 2023, while Star Atlas in December 2022. In June 2023, another Ethereum-based crypto game, Gods Unchained, was added to Epic Games.

Indiscretions start circulating from the giant Activision Blizzard regarding a possible integration of NFTs in Call of Duty 2022.

Activision Blizzard ready to launch NFTs on Call of Duty

Activision Blizzard seems to be seriously considering the possibility of introducing NFTs on Call of Duty.

With the Overhaul in Call of Duty’s UX/UI, Infinity Ward plans to personalise ACTV Accounts: incorporating: Global Calling Cards & Emblems, Avatars and, Statistics.

NFT Inclusion is reportedly being considered by Activision pic.twitter.com/tEiK6sVK7p

— Ralph (@RalphsValve) April 4, 2022

Activision Blizzard is a company born from the merger between Activision and Blizzard Entertainment and is a video game giant globally. The acquisition that will make it part of the Microsoft Gaming division is expected to be completed in the course of 2022.

One of his most famous video games by far is Call of Duty (COD), born in 2003 and still very famous, as a new version keeps coming out every year.

The 2022 version is developed by Infinity Ward and is expected to be a next-gen sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare, featuring a new Warzone.

It’s time for a #CallofDuty Special Briefing

We’ve got all the intel you need heading into Season 2 (and beyond): https://t.co/imT5GQrCUl pic.twitter.com/SnVeB4rGmt

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) February 11, 2022

In the official announcement post of February there is no trace of a possible integration of NFT, but according to some sources, the revision of the Call of Duty’s UX/UI includes the introduction of new features to customize ACTV accounts, including Global Calling Cards & Emblems, and avatars.

For these new features, Infinity Ward and Activision are considering using NFT.

This evaluation has been underway for some months now.

NFT in gaming: an opportunity not to be missed

To tell the truth, the opposite would seem stranger today, namely that they chose not to use NFT in their flagship game, given that Non-Fungible Tokens are now spreading like wildfire in the world of online gaming. They also represent an opportunity that would make little sense not to exploit.

However, its arch competitor, EA, has backtracked from this point of view, as it had announced a role for tokens within its games but then slowed down by postponing the integration to the near future.

Furthermore, now that Microsoft is behind Activision, it will be necessary to see if the parent company will agree on this choice.

In this regard, however, it must be said that Microsoft is already involved with both the technology and the NFT market, so it seems unlikely that it will oppose such a choice. However, some time ago, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, expressed some concerns about NFTs, suggesting that the company he directs is not interested in using them.

The context therefore appears complex and not at all clear, but at least in theory the NFTs could really be integrated into Call of Duty for example for the emblems, skins and cards that players can unlock, or to sell traditional game items.

It will probably be necessary to wait for the official details of the new 2022 version of COD to understand if the company will choose to truly integrate them, or not.

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