Neopets is launching a collection of NFTs, for some reason. Titled "The Neopets Metaverse Collection", it includes "20,500 equally unique, algorithmically generated lovable Neopets NFTs", which translated out of techbro speak, means you get a pretty grim JPG of a Neopet in different clothing.
Unsurprisingly, this move has not gone down well with fans. Neopets players are labelling the collection a "cashgrab project", and have started a campaign under the #NoNeoNFTs hashtag. Fans say they will boycott the service until the team scraps the NFT partnership.
In a press release announcing the controversial collection, Jim Czulewicz, President and CEO of Neopets owner JumpStart Games, seemed to believe that the project would be received well by the community. "Over the past 20 plus years, nearly 100 million people have engaged with Neopets characters both in the game and through merchandise and other branded items". He said. "Extending to NFTs give those users as well as NFT collectors the chance to experience and own part of the history of Neopets".
Fans, however, clearly feel very differently. In an opposing statement, jellyneo.net says, "Ask any Neopian [Neopets fan] about their desires and ideas for how to grow and evolve the Neopets brand, and most likely, no one will mention NFTs.
"No new major features or events have arrived in Neopia for years. Key Quest is still inactive. Lutari Island is still inaccessible. No new plots in nearly 3 years, and yearly recurring events are either postponed indefinitely or outright retired."
Coupled with the environmental concerns around NFTs - as well as their association with scams - and this appears to be too much for the Neopets community to swallow. But what has them most concerned is a roadmap that was released alongside the NFT announcement. It indicates that the team is working towards turning Neopets into a blockchain game, in which all game assets are turned into tokens that are purchased with crypto.
In protest, fans have set up a website where you can get the randomly generated image that comes with the official NFT for free. They encourage players to share their creations online in protest.