GSC Game World has announced the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 NFT is cancelled soon after it was announced, because of the ensuing fan backlash.

While the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 NFT is cancelled, the developer initially stood by their decision to sell the NFT(s), or non-fungible tokens, presumably with media from the game itself. Fans were quick to question where this decision even came from, with many also questioning whether or not NFTs are actually a pointless or harmful practice.

Here’s their apology for the blunder:

DEAR STALKERS,

WE HEAR YOU.

BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED, WE’VE MADE A DECISION TO CANCEL ANYTHING NFT-RELATED IN S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

THE INTERESTS OF OUR FANS AND PLAYERS ARE THE TOP PRIORITY FOR THE TEAM. WE’RE MAKING THIS GAME FOR YOU TO ENJOY – WHATEVER THE COST IS. IF YOU CARE, WE CARE TOO.

WITH LOVE, GSC GAME WORLD TEAM.

This is quite different from their original follow-up, where they stood by the decision to sell NFTs based on the game:

DEAR STALKERS,

WE WANT TO GIVE A DETAILED COMMENT ON YESTERDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF NFT-BONUSES FOR S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

GSC GAME WORLD IS AN INDEPENDENT GAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO. WE HAVE NO PUBLISHER, BUT WE DO HAVE WONDERFUL PARTNERS, AN INCREDIBLE TEAM, AND A DREAM OF A GAME THAT YOU WILL SINCERELY LOVE. JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER DEVS, WE NEED TWO MAIN RESOURCES: TIME AND MONEY.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHERNOBYL IS TRULY THE BIGGEST AND THE MOST COMPLEX GAME WE HAVE EVER CREATED. ALL THE FUNDS THAT WE EARN DURING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL INCOME FROM NFT) WILL BE SPENT ON IMPROVING THE LONG-AWAITED GAME TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER.

WHY DID WE CHOOSE NFT? IT’S A NEW TECHNOLOGY, AND WE ARE EAGER TO «DO NFT RIGHT»: GIVE CERTAIN FANS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO THE GAME WITHOUT INTERFERING WITH OTHER PLAYERS’ EXPERIENCE. THAT’S WHY THE TOKENS ARE ENTIRELY OPTIONAL AND HAVE NO IMPACT ON GAMEPLAY OR STORY (NO WEAPONS, QUESTS, LOCATIONS, ETC.) AND CAN BE ACTIVATED ONLY BEFORE THE GAME RELEASE.

YESTERDAY WE ANNOUNCED THE FIRST TOKENS – THE FACES OF SEVERAL NPCS. THEY AREN’T EVEN INVOLVED IN THE STORY. BUT SOME OF YOU THOUGHT WE WOULD GO A BIT TOO FAR FROM HERE. THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO TRANSPARENTLY DISCLOSE OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE NFTS. WE ARE GOING TO IMPLEMENT (NICK)NAMES OF THE OWNERS ON SOME IN-GAME DESKS/WALLS/ETC. (PLEASE REMEMBER IT’S A LARGE OPEN WORLD WE’RE TALKING ABOUT), GLOVES/TATTOOS, SKINS/BADGES FOR THE MULTIPLAYER MODE (RELEASING AS A FREE UPDATE AFTER THE STORY CAMPAIGN) AND COLLECTIBLE CARDS (DMARKET PLATFORM ONLY, NO INTEGRATION IN S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
2).

DMARKET WAS CHOSEN AS A PARTNER AS A VIDEOGAME-ONLY BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORM. THEY LOVE GAMES, AND THEY WERE EAGER TO WORK WITH US ON THIS KIND OF SOFT NFT REALIZATION. DMARKET WORKS ON A PRIVATE BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM WITH BRIDGES INTO OTHER NETWORKS (SUCH AS POLYGON AND SOLANA) WITH PRIORITY TO PROVIDE LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND MINIMIZE CO2-EMISSIONS AND OTHER NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.

IN THIS STATEMENT, WE ARE AS HONEST WITH YOU AS WE CAN. WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR SUPPORT, BUT AT LEAST WE HOPE YOU CAN HEAR US AND UNDERSTAND OUR REASONS.
THE TEXT TURNED OUT TO BE VERY BIG: THANK YOU FOR READING IT TILL THE END. PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR YESTERDAY’S MISCOMMUNICATION AND ALL THE FEELINGS IT CAUSED. WE KNOW THAT YOU WISH ONLY THE BEST FOR OUR GAME, AND WE APPRECIATE IT.

WITH LOVE, GSC GAME WORLD TEAM.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is set to launch on April 28th, 2022 on Xbox Series X|S, and later on Windows PC. The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch.