G2 Esports announces NFT drop and fans are very angry over it

Nicholas James Published 19/01/2022

G2 Esports NFTs are here and fans of the LEC franchise are very angry about it.

The European esports organization announced the SamuraiArmyNFT in collaboration with Metaplex, a fan club hosted on Solana, the blockchain platform. The effort follows TSM FTX a blockbuster partnership between esports organization TSM and cryptocurrency platform FTX.

Why are fans mad about G2 Esports NFTs?

G2 Esports fans are frustrated about the NFT drop due to distrust in NFTs as a whole due to the abundant scams and adverse environmental impact.

The concept of G2 Esports’ outing into NFTs is relatively simple. Fans can purchase one of 6,262 different Samurai-themed NFTs based on G2 Esports’ logo. Ownership of these NFTs acts as a lifetime pass to an unspecified fan club with exclusive content and behind-the-scenes peeks for G2 fans.

Gaming fans have been pretty outspoken about their dislike for NFTs in the space, given Ubisoft announcing and then immediately canceling a Ghost Recon NFT effort, and something similar happening with the developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The situation was no different here, with plenty of community figures telling G2 that this wasn’t a good look.

Those who voiced support were drowned out by those in line with casters Clayton “Captain Flowers” Raines and Aaron “Medic” Chamberlain who criticized the organization.

How do NFTs work?

An NFT is a way of registering ownership of an item, generally a piece of media, via a blockchain. In layman’s terms, it’s effectively a certificate of authenticity for an image or video.

Each NFT is unique and can therefore hold differing values. The abundance of similar-looking apes and filling up Twitter timeline, the differentiation in an outfit and other pieces is often the specific variation that distinguishes them and gives them differing value.

G2’s samurai avatars’ registered owners will allegedly be able to access exclusive content thanks to their SamuraiArmy NFT, but the details remain unclear of what that looks like. Other teams have ventured into fan club efforts, but neither Team Liquid nor Cloud9, who have similar systems, chose to involve NFTs or blockchain infrastructure as a part of their implementation. The most notable NFT endeavor in esports came from Dota 2 and Counter-Strike organization OG which purportedly made over $1 million from its NFT drop.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile

Read Also

League of Legends

Caps Hall of Legends skins prices and dates revealed Hannan Mundia Caps is the latest League of Legends player to be inducted into the Hall of Legends, and the LEC player’s dedicated skins have been revealed, including their prices and release dates. The Hall of Legends is Riot Games’ way to honor a handful of the most well-known and celebrated professional players associated with LoL. The first inductee was naturally Faker, while the second was Uzi. The third player is Caps, ...

League of Legends

Five Support Champions To Pick Up in LoL Patch 26.17 Ben Boland The support meta in League of Legends is one of the most highly discussed roles in the game right now. With Riot doubling down on the roaming support playstyle, we will likely see more champions added to the pool around the time of Worlds 2026, which begins on 15 October. At the time of writing this article, the current patch, 26.17, is being tested on the PBE, with the launch ...

League of Legends

These Are Five Top Lane Champions To Pick Up in League of Legends Patch 26.17 Ben Boland League of Legends patch 26.17 is just around the corner, and with that patch comes more changes to the role. The days of ADCs in the lane are starting to be a thing of the past, with more bruisers hitting the gym before the launch of 26.17. Many top laners are receiving buffs on the new patch, while powerhouses such as Nasus and Vayne are on the chopping block, making ...

League of Legends

Here Is What To Expect From the League of Legends Patch 26.17 Ben Boland It’s less than a week until the release of League of Legends Patch 26.17, and with this patch comes some significant nerfs to popular champions, item adjustments, and targeting roaming supports as mage bottom lanes dominate the meta. While there is plenty to unpack in this week's patch from Riot Games, two champions, Vayne and Xerath, have received the biggest nerfs across the board. Here are some of the biggest ...

League of Legends

Trade on LGD vs Bilibili Gaming at Polymarket — Use Promo Code WINGGPREMAR Ben Boland Bilibili Gaming comes into their best-of-three series against LGD Gaming as the overwhelming favorites, with Polymarket traders giving the MSI finalists an 83% implied probability of winning at the time of writing this article. The prediction market doesn’t give LGD much of a chance at all, and with traders backing BLG heavily, it paints a picture of who is most likely to win this series in the LPL Split 3, ...

League of Legends

Which Teams Should Be Panicking Ahead of LoL Worlds 2026? Ben Boland The 2026 League of Legends World Championship is fast approaching, with the tournament beginning on 15 October. 19 of the best teams that esports has to offer will do battle in North America for a shot at the Summoner's Cup. For teams like Bilibili Gaming and Hanwha Life Esports, their fates are already sealed without stepping foot on the Rift again, but for the rest of the teams, they will ...

League of Legends

Predictions For Gen.G vs Dplus KIA: Best Value Odds at GGBET Ben Boland Two of the more in-form teams in the LCK go head-to-head as Dplus KIA takes on Gen.G on 22 August. Despite the odds leaning more towards a Gen.G win, there are some solid bets to make across the board, not just simply the result. Dplus KIA have shown impressive form throughout the summer and so shouldn’t be discounted in this series. In this preview, we will highlight the best chances to ...