Outerverse writer Freedom Video games is warning of an NFT rip-off that is advertising a brand new cryptocurrency to videogame and NFT communities. The Outerverse Metaverse and Decentralized Platform is providing a token that it says might be earnable and usable in Outerverse—however Freedom Video games and developer Tbjbu2 say the declare is “patently false.”
“There’s completely no NFT integration in the actual Outerverse or with another titles from Freedom Video games,” director of selling Bryan Herren mentioned in an announcement. “Outerverse Metaverse & Decentralized Platform Gaming illegally makes use of the actual sport’s belongings and the trademarked identify. The con artists are promoting an $OUTERVERSE token, claiming that will probably be usable within the sport itself.”
There isn’t any query that the NFT web site is deliberately piggybacking on Outerverse: The logos are similar (aside from the addition of “Metaverse & Decentralized Platform”) and the background of the Outerverseswap web site is similar to the header picture on the Steam retailer web page, however reversed. The $OUTERVERSE token identify is type of a giveaway, too.
And, like so many e mail scams that arrive daily, this one is additional identifiable as a con by its less-than-pristine grammar. “$OUTERVERSE is developed Sport Metaverse & DexSwap platform that connects players and permits commerce token,” the web site says. “This offers $OUTERVERSE an actual sensible utility inside the OUTERVERSE ecosystem. Embrace a platform the place players and blockchain converge!”
The identical message was shared on the Outerverseswap Twitter account, which additionally bears the Outerverse identify:
$OUTERVERSE is developed Metaverse Sport & DexSwap platform that connects players and permits them to purchase and gaming NFTs.This offers $OUTERVERSE an actual sensible utility inside the OUTERVERSE ecosystem. Embrace a platform the place players and blockchain converge!January 16, 2022
On the similar time, the $OUTERVERSE token does look like a “actual” cryptocurrency, to the extent that it is listed on at the very least one crypto exchange, and you may apparently buy it if you need. However in an e mail to PC Gamer, Herren repeated that it has nothing to do with Tbjbu2’s sport, which doesn’t make use of blockchain expertise in any approach.
“This seems to simply be an opportunistic appropriation of the sport’s identify and belongings, presumably to revenue off the uninformed,” Herren mentioned.
As for why Outerverse was focused on this approach, he speculated that the sport title may conjure associations with “metaverse,” a classy matter among the many tech set that scammers may hope will set off the urge to purchase with out due diligence—or perhaps a fast Google search.
“The sport has additionally had a profitable launch based mostly on our projections and has maintained ‘largely optimistic’ critiques because it debuted,” Herren mentioned. “The crafting sport style can also be a well-liked one with a youthful viewers base, so scammers could have focused us resulting from these comparable titles.”
Apart from warning folks concerning the rip-off, Freedom Video games mentioned that it has contacted the corporate internet hosting the rip-off web page to “encourage” its elimination. Up to now there’s been no motion on that entrance—in reality, the writer says it is seen different complaints about fraudulent websites hosted by the identical firm with no motion taken, “so we aren’t positive if will probably be a precedence for them.”
“Freedom Video games will proceed to do all the things inside its energy to guard the builders we help,” Herren mentioned. “Likewise, Freedom Video games will at all times vigorously defend its copyright and logos, to safeguard our group to the most effective of our potential.”