Rabbids Token Game: Ubisoft Launches Ethereum-based Game To Benefit UNICEF

Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft is launching a blockchain game similar to CryptoKitties, but with all proceeds going to UNICEF.

In Rabbids Token, users can add a Rabbid by buying or grabbing (stealing) one from a current owner. When the amount (in Ether) is paid, the Rabbids will appear in the player’s wallet.

The difference between Rabbids Token and the popular CryptoKitties is that the Rabbid will transform once a new owner gets it. Any player can grab another’s Rabbid with just a click of a button.

Even if the Rabbid transformed, however, the player is left with a "Proof of Plausible Ownership" (POPO), which serves as evidence that the player once owned a specific Rabbid. Ubisoft stressed, however, that POPO must be thought more of a proof of the player’s donation to UNICEF, whose Ethereum address can be found here.

Currently, the Rabbids are selling from 0.05 to 0.15 ETH depending on the stage of transformation. There will also be special edition Rabbids available during a “full moon”, which is slated next on July 5.

Rabbids Token is arguably noteworthy because it is a blockchain game released by a major video game company. Ubisoft lending the Rabbids IP to blockchain speaks volumes of its commitment to blockchain gaming. Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab is behind many of the gaming giant’s blockchain efforts, including the game called “HashRate,” which was never released. Ubisoft is also the only large publisher that is a member of the Blockchain Game Alliance, which aims to promote blockchain in the gaming industry.

Speaking to Coindesk in 2018, the company said there’s “even more interesting thing to find through the blockchain,” after noting the organization was particularly interested in the technology’s ability to offer unique ownership on digital items.

When CryptoKitties was introduced, the Ethereum blockchain was paralyzed as it tried processing thousands of people wanting to buy and trade digital cats in hopes of getting some profit. Rabbids Token does not look to be focusing on the monetary value of owning a Rabbid. However, bringing a popular IP to blockchain might get new users who will be exposed to Ethereum and blockchain in general for the first time.