Pokemon fans concerned as job listing teases NFTs & Metaverse future: “This scares me”

Jeremy Gan
Pikachu in the Pokemon anime

Pokemon fans are worried as a new job listing from The Pokemon Company is demanding NFT and blockchain expertise for a Senior role. 

The world of blockchain and video games has meshed a great deal since its inception, for better or worse, and it seems Pokemon might be the next new commodity in the NFT space. 

In a recent job listing for The Pokemon Company, the team in charge of the Pokemon brand as a whole, the Corporate Development Principal role requires knowledge and connections in the NFT, Web 3, and Metaverse space.

Despite Nintendo expressing interest in the past in getting into the NFT space, they have never officially entered the blockchain. But this job listing could tease a future of Pokemon in the Web 3 world, and fans are already concerned. 

The world of NFTs and cryptocurrencies has not been getting much good coverage lately. Namely the fall of FTX, and the subsequent crashing of NFT prices after its downfall. With the exploitation of Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo being exposed, and Metaverse still claiming to change the world, despite a middling user base, it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows for Web3 experts.

Now, Pokemon fans are worried that The Pokemon Company is trying to insert their beloved game franchise into that world with this prominent hire.

One Twitter user wrote in response to the job listing, and the potential future it could herald for Pokemon, “I think a lot of people [are about to] drop interest in Pokemon. This, to me, as a 10-year player, scares me.”

Meanwhile, some others are concerned that this could mean a crypto or NFT integration with Pokemon’s gameplay, something that could fundamentally alter the series.

But the NFT, Web 3, and Metaverse expertise is only a small part of the list of requirements that The Pokemon Company is asking for. So it’s worth bearing in mind, the successful candidate may simply be required to keep abreast of information in that space, without necessarily forcing the Pokemon brand into it. Thus, it does not mean for certain the company has any blockchain plans in development at this time.

About The Author

Jeremy is a writer on the Australian Dexerto team. He studied at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and graduated with a Bachelors in Journalism. Jeremy mainly covers esports such as CS:GO, Valorant, Overwatch, League of Legends, and Dota 2, but he also leans into gaming and entertainment news as well. You can contact Jeremy at jeremy.gan@dexerto.com or on Twitter @Jer_Gan