Team17 ends controversial MetaWorms NFT project after pushback

Team17 has walked back plans to create NFTs based on its Worms series, only a day after unveiling the project. The publishing company announced it has listened to the backlash it has received.

The publisher revealed MetaWorms, its “generative NFT art project,” yesterday. Created in partnership with reality gaming group, the MetaWorms would have been unique pieces of computer-generated Worms-based art. Team17 claimed that they would not require as much energy to generate as other NFTs. It also promised to donate a cut of the proceeds to sustainability initiative Coin 4 Planet. Specifically, it would donate to the Refeed Farms plan, which supports worm beds that break down food waste.

Within hours of Team17’s announcement, it began receiving criticism for this project. Developer Aggro Crab, the creators of Going Under, tweeted that it would not be working with Team17 on future projects unless the decision was reversed. Fellow indie dev Playtonic tweeted that it did not endorse the use of NFTs and would not use them. Both developers implied that Team17 employees were not apprised of this decision before it was announced.

Team17 today announced that it was ending the MetaWorms project, saying, “We have listened to our teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.”

This mirrors similar backlash received by GSC Game World, the developers of Stalker 2. It also recently revealed an NFT-based project and recanted the announcement following strong backlash.