Ubisoft Kills Champions Tactics NFTs as Free Steam Version Goes Live

Champions Tactics: Reforged launched on Steam on May 19, 2026, as a free-to-play, completely web2 game
The original Grimoria Chronicles version shuts down all blockchain features on May 27, 2026
A wallet freeze on May 27 locks inventories; player champions and VIP status carry over as web2 assets
The Forge and Marketplace close permanently on May 27, ending all NFT trading and crafting
A new Gold Chest system using in-game currency replaces blockchain-based champion acquisition
Original game NFTs cost up to $63,000 at the October 2024 launch
Ubisoft is among the largest traditional publishers to formally abandon a web3 gaming product

The last major traditional publisher to make a serious bet on NFT gaming has called it quits. Ubisoft's Champions Tactics: Reforged launched on Steam on May 19, 2026 source, a free-to-play version of the tactical RPG with every trace of blockchain removed. Shortly after, Ubisoft confirmed that the original web3 version, Grimoria Chronicles, will shut down all NFT and marketplace features on May 27 source. The message is unambiguous: the experiment is over.

What Changed on May 19

Champions Tactics: Reforged is a complete relaunch built for Steam. The Steam version requires linking your account to Ubisoft Connect and supports standard Steam features including achievements, trading cards, and Easy Anti-Cheat protection. source Champions are no longer NFTs minted on-chain. Instead, players acquire them through Bloodstones, a standard in-game currency earned through play. Season 4 launched on the same day.

There is no bridge between the web3 and web2 versions. If you hold NFT champions in Grimoria Chronicles, you cannot import them into Reforged. The two products share game mechanics but run on entirely separate economies with no crossover.

Worth Noting

Worth noting: Ubisoft timed the Reforged Steam launch to coincide with Season 4, which reads as a calculated new-player acquisition push rather than a quiet shutdown. The company is not abandoning Champions Tactics as a product. It is abandoning the blockchain layer that was keeping mainstream players away.

What Happens on May 27

For players who hold NFT champions in the original Grimoria Chronicles, the window is short. The Forge and Marketplace close permanently on May 27. On the same day, Ubisoft freezes all wallet connections and takes a snapshot of every player's inventory. source That snapshot becomes the basis for your new web2 asset list. Your champions and VIP status transfer. The ability to trade, sell, or mint does not.

The practical consequence for NFT holders: your champions survive as playable characters, but the underlying token becomes worthless as a tradable asset. Anyone who bought champions expecting resale value takes a permanent loss on that expectation.

Risk Factor

Risk factor: If you hold Champions Tactics NFTs and have not yet sold or transferred them, your window is closing fast. After May 27, those assets exist only inside Ubisoft's servers with no on-chain value. There is no appeal process once the snapshot is taken. Act before the Forge and Marketplace go dark.

Why This Matters Beyond One Game

Champions Tactics was not a fringe experiment. When it launched in October 2024, Champions in the marketplace sold for up to $63,000, and Ubisoft positioned it as a serious competitive title built around genuine asset ownership. source The studio's willingness to publicly brand itself with NFTs at that price point signaled how seriously Ubisoft believed the model would work.

Less than two years later, they are walking away. This is not a quiet shutdown. Ubisoft built an entirely separate free-to-play product and launched it on Steam as a direct replacement. The implication is clear: the web3 version was a barrier, not a selling point.

In our assessment, this is the most significant AAA signal the blockchain gaming space has seen in years. Smaller, native-crypto studios can iterate fast enough to survive token market cycles. A publisher the size of Ubisoft cannot afford to keep a product in limbo while waiting for mainstream players to change their minds about NFTs. They tried, player sentiment stayed hostile, and they pivoted.

The pattern here also mirrors what happened with other major publisher blockchain experiments. Ubisoft itself pulled the plug on the Quartz NFT program in Ghost Recon Breakpoint in 2023 after player backlash. Champions Tactics was the second attempt, and the result was the same.

What This Means for Players

For existing NFT holders, the action item is straightforward: complete any outstanding forging or marketplace trades before May 27. After that date, those systems are gone permanently. Ubisoft has confirmed that champions and VIP status transfer to web2, but all trading, crafting, and blockchain-linked asset management end on May 27. source

For new players, this is clean. Champions Tactics: Reforged is a free tactical PvP game on Steam. The history of expensive NFTs attached to the original is irrelevant to your experience. Evaluate Reforged as a game on its own merits.

For the broader web3 gaming space, the damage is reputational. Ubisoft's involvement gave blockchain gaming credibility with mainstream press and investors who pointed to AAA participation as a sign of legitimacy. That reference point is gone. Projects that cited Champions Tactics as evidence of publisher adoption will need a new argument.

Tip

Tip: If you want to try Champions Tactics, Reforged on Steam is the right starting point. It is free, has no financial entry barrier, and delivers the same tactical depth as the original. The web2 version is clearly the product Ubisoft intended to build. The blockchain layer was a speculative add-on that the studio itself has now abandoned.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer my NFT champions from Grimoria Chronicles into Reforged?

No. The two versions use completely separate systems. Reforged champions are acquired through Bloodstones, an in-game currency earned through play. Your NFT wallet has no connection to the Steam version.

What happens to my NFT champions after May 27?

Ubisoft will take a snapshot of your Grimoria Chronicles inventory on May 27 and replicate those champions as web2 assets inside the game. You keep the characters as playable units but lose all trading capability and on-chain value. After the snapshot, they are no different from any other in-game item.

Is Champions Tactics: Reforged actually a good game?

The tactical PvP system received solid feedback when Grimoria Chronicles launched in 2024. Reforged carries the same combat depth without the financial barrier that kept many players away from the original. Whether the player base rebuilds on Steam after the NFT controversy is an open question, but the game mechanics are not the problem that drove players off.

Why did Ubisoft go web3 in the first place?

Ubisoft was not alone in believing around 2022 to 2024 that NFT ownership would become a genuine player demand. The theory was that players would pay a premium for verifiable ownership of in-game assets. In practice, the mainstream gaming audience rejected the model almost universally, and the players who did engage were largely speculators rather than long-term game fans.