Ubisoft’s recently launched Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles experienced a significant matchmaking disruption over the weekend, where players found themselves automatically losing matches to the same opponent. The NFT-based tactics game, which features characters priced up to $63,000 in cryptocurrency, encountered the issue shortly after its launch last week.
The problem began Friday afternoon when players reported connecting to ranked matches only to receive immediate server errors and subsequent losses. Despite error messages indicating that stats wouldn’t change, players watched their competitive rankings decline with each attempted connection. All matches appeared to connect to a single player account named “Paulstar111,” leading to initial speculation about potential hacking.
I tried playing the Ubisoft NFT game.
The entire game has been unplayable since Friday. Allegedly, a malicious player has found a way to win every single match before the game even begins. Also he is somehow the only person anyone ever matches against. pic.twitter.com/8yfZ0dakAe
— Jauwn (@Jauwnio) November 3, 2024
When contacted about the issue, game moderators indicated that the development team wouldn’t be available until Monday to address the situation. However, by Saturday morning, game director Biloukat announced a temporary solution, banning the suspected account. The relief proved short-lived as the same issue promptly resurfaced with a different account, “Schilleri11.”
The situation took an unexpected turn on Monday when Biloukat revealed that both Paulstar111 and Schilleri11 were actually victims of a networking error rather than perpetrators. The development team apologized to both players, lifted their bans, and explained they had taken the actions as a precautionary security measure.
While the team has restored matchmaking functionality, they warn the issue may recur as they work on a permanent solution. Despite these technical challenges, the Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles NFT marketplace remains active, with its highest-priced champion currently listed at $256,570,000. The incident highlights the technical challenges facing Ubisoft’s venture into NFT gaming, as the company continues to develop and maintain its Web3 gaming initiatives in 2024.