Metaverse. The stupid frontier. These are the voyages of the USS Bad Idea. Its continuing mission: To explore terrible monetization. To seek out new capitalist ideas no matter how awful. To boldly go against an entire IP’s ethos.
You read that headline correctly: Paramount Global is getting into bed with RECUR, a company in the business of creating “innovative NFT experiences with the biggest brands in film, TV, sports, and pop culture,” to create starship NFTs based on the Star Trek IP, which in turn will be used in an upcoming pay-to-earn game known as Star Trek: Continuum.
The starship NFTs in question, which come in one of six classes, will have all of the artistry of a bored AI as they will be “algorithmically-generated” in order to ensure no two ships are the same. A starship will be necessary in order for people to play Continuum; buying in to get a ship and thus play this title will set you back $250.
Ship NFTs are being released as part of a “season 0” money making scheme, with season 1 involving players assembling a crew for their ships and then season 2 involving the actual game being played, where players can take up missions to earn rare NFTs. Season 3 is also planned for the game, promising “new characters, new species, and more from Star Trek.”
Those who have been following Trek’s official Twitter account knew that something like this was on the horizon, as a teaser tweet was put into the digital ether at the beginning of April. That tweet and the subsequent announcement tweet for Continuum is full of fans decrying the scheme, with many pointing out that NFTs are antithetical to the entire idea of Trek’s hope for a future where humans have advanced to the point that money and material needs are irrelevant. Apparently, the license holder has never gotten that memo, nor has it paid attention to the fact that having an official license tied to an NFT-filled game is a recipe for disaster.
