Sega rethinks plans on ‘boring’ blockchain gaming: Bloomberg

Quick Take

Sega has decided to withhold its most popular franchises, such as Sonic The Hedgehog, from third-party blockchain gaming projects.
It has also temporarily shelved plans to develop its proprietary blockchain games, according to co-Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi.

Japanese video game titan Sega, once a blockchain-based gaming enthusiast, is dialing back its interest in a sector that has struggled since crypto’s 2021 bull market, when play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity were taking off.

Sega has opted to withhold its most popular franchises, such as Sonic The Hedgehog, from third-party blockchain gaming projects to prevent content devaluation. The company has also temporarily shelved plans to develop its own proprietary blockchain games, according to co-Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi, in an interview with Bloomberg.

Describing the gameplay in play-to-earn games as "boring," Utsumi also questioned their entertainment value, asking, "What's the point if games are no fun?"

Utsumi's comments represent a notable shift for the firm, which, along with competitors such as Square Enix, Bandai Namco and Ubisoft, became initial validators for the gaming-focused Oasys blockchain just last year.

NFTs and lesser-known franchises still in play

Despite the cautious stance on blockchain gaming, Sega still intends to allow external partners to use its lesser-known Three Kingdoms and Virtua Fighter characters for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It will also offer its smaller franchises to several upcoming blockchain games and continue to invest in related projects, Utsumi said, adding that the technology remains useful and Sega is open to getting more involved again longer-term.

"For the majority of people in the video game industry, what blockchain advocates say may sound a bit extreme, but that's how the first penguin has always been. We should never underestimate them," Utsumi added.

However, Utsumi was more wary of deploying web3 technology in Sega's "super game" initiative — a collection of big-budget online multiplayer games set to launch in 2026. “We’re looking into whether this technology is really going to take off in this industry, after all,” he said.

Last month, Utsumi dismissed talk of Sega being acquired by Microsoft.