Read the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developer’s deleted explanation for why you’re getting NFTs

Update December 16th, 6:44PM ET: 11 minutes after we posted this story, GSC Game World announced it was canceling “anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.” Guess that explains why the earlier explanation was deleted. Our original story follows.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World posted a now-deleted statement on Twitter elaborating on its widely criticized plans to add NFTs to the game. In short, the company said it will be using funds earned from the NFTs to help with development.

“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is truly the biggest and the most complex game we have ever created,” GSC Game World said. “All the funds that we earn during the development process (including the potential income from NFT) will be spent on improving the long-awaited game to make it even better.”

Image: GSC Game World

On Wednesday, the developer revealed it would be partnering with NFT platform DMarket on the virtual items. As part of its NFT plans, GSC Game World said it would be offering NFTs that allowed the owners to become a “metahuman,” or an NPC added to the game in their likeness. In its Thursday update, GSC Game World downplayed the role of those NPCs, saying they “aren’t even involved in the story.”

The company had previously been vague about its other planned NFTs, but GSC Game World shared more information in the deleted statement about what’s to come, acknowledging that after the metahuman, “some of you thought we would go a bit too far from here.” Here’s what’s apparently coming down the pike:

We are going to implement (nick)names of the owners on some in-game desks / walls / etc. (please remember it’s a large open world we’re talking about), gloves / tattoos, skins / badges for the multiplayer mode (releasing as a free update after the story campaign) and collectible cards (DMarket platform only, no integration in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2).

The studio ended its Thursday statement by saying, “Please accept our apologies for yesterday’s miscommunication and all the feelings it caused. We know that you wish only the best for our game, and we appreciate it.”

GSC Game World didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the deleted statement.

This month, there has been a wave of video game NFT announcements. Ubisoft launched its own heavily criticized Ghost Recon: Breakpoint NFTs, some of which require hundreds of hours of gameplay be claimed. Peter Molyneux also revealed details about a business simulator where people can buy an NFT actually called “Land.” The virtual plots have already pulled in more than $54 million in total, according to Ars Technica.