On February 6, 2022, the indie game store Itch.io drew a line in the sand over NFTs, calling them a scam that exploits creators, enables financial fraud, and harms the planet. Its words, posted to Twitter, reached beyond the question asked to rebuke any company that claims to champion creators while embracing the technology. The moment echoes a broader industry unease, in which the promise of new digital ownership collides with the older, durable question of who truly benefits from the marketplace. How creator platforms answer that question may well shape where the rest of the industry turns.
Itch.io Calls NFTs 'a Scam' and Takes Aim at Companies Embracing Them
On February 6, 2022, the indie game store Itch.io drew a line in the sand over NFTs, calling them a scam that exploits creators, enables financial fraud, and harms the planet. Its words, posted to Twitter, reached beyond the question asked to rebuke any company that claims to champion creators while embracing the technology. The moment echoes a broader industry unease, in which the promise of new digital ownership collides with the older, durable question of who truly benefits from the marketplace. How creator platforms answer that question may well shape where the rest of the industry turns.
On February 6, 2022, the indie game store Itch.io posted a short message to Twitter. Asked where it stood on NFTs, the company answered bluntly: they are a scam. Anyone who thinks they are useful for anything beyond exploiting creators, running financial fraud, and harming the planet, it said, should reconsider their life choices. The post was signed off with a peace sign.
The company then issued a follow-up, far saltier in tone, aimed at any business that says it supports creators while endorsing NFTs in any form. Such companies, Itch.io argued, care only about profit and the chance at wealth, especially now that the problems with NFTs are easy to find in public discussion.
Itch.io named no target, but the timing points to Gumroad, a storefront where creators sell everything from artwork to game mods. Gumroad had recently been drawn into a dispute after rumors spread that it was moving into NFTs, and creators pushed back. Its official account responded in a way The Verge called weird and snarky. The company's current position is that it will tell users first if it ever does anything with crypto or NFTs, and for now it has no plans.
The statement arrives as other businesses flirt with the technology. GameStop has announced its own NFT marketplace, and Ubisoft appears to be quietly continuing its plans. Public resistance has already changed some outcomes: the makers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. backed away after fans objected loudly, and a recent survey showed game developers themselves are unhappy with the idea.
For Itch.io, the stance fits its identity as a humane alternative to corporate giants like Steam. The wider creator world remains divided, with some seeing NFTs as an easy path to income and many others seeing them as wasteful and exploitative. What comes next is whether more creator-focused platforms are pushed to take a position, and whether Gumroad's wait-and-see approach holds while larger companies press on.
On February 6, 2022, the indie game store Itch.io posted a short message to its Twitter account. A few people had asked where the company stood on NFTs, it said, and the answer was blunt: NFTs are a scam. Anyone who believes they are useful for something other than exploiting creators, running financial scams, and harming the planet, the post continued, should reevaluate their life choices. It signed off with a peace sign.
The company did not stop there. It followed up with an addendum, in far saltier language, aimed at any company that says it supports creators while endorsing NFTs in any way. Such companies, Itch.io wrote, care only about their own profit and the chance at wealth, especially now that the problems with NFTs are so easy to find discussed in public.
Itch.io did not name a target, but the timing points to Gumroad, a storefront that lets creators sell everything from artwork to game mods to audio plug-ins. Gumroad had recently been at the center of a dispute. The story is somewhat tangled, but in outline: a suggestion circulated that Gumroad was moving into NFTs, creators pushed back, and the company responded on its official Twitter account in a way The Verge described as weird and snarky. Gumroad's current position is that if and when it does anything related to crypto or NFTs, users will hear it from the company first, and that for now there are no plans.
The tweet lands at a moment when plenty of businesses are at least flirting with the technology. GameStop recently announced plans for its own NFT marketplace. Ubisoft appears to be quietly continuing with its NFT plans. Even digital storefronts like Itch.io are among those that have been considering the idea, according to The Verge.
Public resistance has already changed some outcomes, though. The makers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. backed away from their NFT ambitions after fans objected loudly. A recent survey of game developers also showed that people working inside the industry are unhappy about the technology, so the skepticism is not confined to players.
For Itch.io, the position fits its identity. The store has built its reputation as a humane alternative to corporate giants like Steam, so a hard line against NFTs is not a surprise. The wider creator world remains split: some digital creators see NFTs as a simple way to earn money, while many others regard them as wasteful and exploitative, which is the view Itch.io put in its own words.
What to watch next is whether more creator-focused platforms are pushed to state a position, and whether Gumroad's wait-and-see line holds as GameStop and Ubisoft continue with their plans.
Citazioni salienti
NFTs are a scam.— Itch.io, via Twitter
If and when we do anything related to crypto/NFTs, you'll hear it from us first. For now, no plans.— Gumroad
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