Reports have surfaced claiming that the beloved Korean real-time strategy game, Kingdom Under Fire, has fallen victim to a crypto-scam company.

Arsene Lupin, an avid Steam player on a mission to review every game in their library, recently posted their thoughts on the game’s Steam page. Lupin expressed disappointment in the current state of the game, stating that while Kingdom Under Fire was originally a successful RTS/RPG hybrid released in 2001, its latest version now runs a program called Locus Game Chain in the background, demanding an excessive amount of CPU power.

Developer Bloom Technology was quick to respond to these claims, offering a detailed explanation. They clarified that the old P2P networking system, known as wargate.net, had been replaced with their own technology called Locus Chain.

The developer defended their use of blockchain technology in the game, emphasizing the potential cost savings and improved focus on game development it provides. They also pointed out that Kingdom Under Fire is the first successful example of implementing a blockchain node in a game, which may have led to some confusion and misconceptions.

Despite the controversy, Kingdom Under Fire maintains a “Very Positive” Steam user score, albeit with a relatively small number of reviews. However, one user succinctly expressed their frustration with the game, simply stating, “Blockchain go home.”

Bloom Technology clarified that Kingdom Under Fire: War of Heroes does utilize Locus Game Chain for online multiplayer functionality but does not involve cryptocurrencies or NFTs. They claim to have followed all of Steam’s guidelines and regulations.

It’s worth noting that neither the game’s About section nor its system requirements mention anything about blockchain technology.