An NFT minter admits minting GameStop marketplace games without the developer’s consent. Openly available on itch.io for free, the games were bought hundreds of times before GameStop finally delisted them. Despite the wishes of the original creators, the games are still present on GameStop’s servers.
Out of the NFTs on offer in GameStop’s marketplace, the NiFTy Arcade is slightly different. It has the ability to access certain games from one’s wallet instead of JPEGs. But the person minting them didn’t develop these games. The real developer didn’t allow for them to be used in this way. Games including Galactic Wars and Worm Nom Nom, built in the Pico-8 engineers continue to freely exist on itch.io pages of the developers.
NFT Minter Earned 8.4ETH in Primary Sales
Nathan Ello, the NFT minter, sold them for 0.019ETH and 0.052ETH, respectively. Ello explained the benefit of playing the game directly from the wallet was that he didn’t have to navigate his wallet. And, he could play the game directly from their wallet or profile page. It made sense enough for a hundred purchases which earned Ello 8.4ETH in primary sales while 4.67ETH in secondary sales. GameStop also got commission and marketplace fees on these transactions.
As mentioned above, Ello disclosed to Ars that he minted the games without first seeking the permission of developers. Worm Nom Nom, one of the games, was under a Creative Commons license that doesn’t permit commercial usage.
Ello continues to hold the cryptocurrency from the sales of the games despite the games being delisted from GameStop’s NFT marketplace. Meanwhile Ello and Nifty continue to have active accounts on the marketplace.
The NFTs sold are still making rounds on other marketplaces. In addition, they are accessible on GameStop’s servers through cached copies and crypto wallets of the owners, despite the unwillingness of the original developers.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/08/10/games-on-gamestops-nft-marketplace-were-sold-without-developers-consent/