GameStop Removes NFT Collection That Resembles 9/11 Photo

It has been about two weeks since GameStop launched the beta version of its GameStop NFT marketplace, and it has been a rocky start. The platform has been held responsible for allowing the minting of a 9/11-related NFT. What happened to the 9/11 NFT?

GameStop chose to have its NFT marketplace on Ethereum, which has high gas fees, so it may deter consumers from using it. Some have questioned whether now is the right time to launch an NFT platform.

GameStop launched its NFT marketplace recently, GameStop NFT, a platform where users can buy and sell NFTs. However, the platform is only beta, which means that the marketplace is available for people to use but it isn't fully functional. This allows app and web developers to see what bugs or issues a platform has, that way when the actual application comes out, you avoid those issues on a larger level.

Last week, a NFT artist who went by the username "Jules" minted and sold the NFTs called Falling Man. Falling Man NFTs featured an image that highly resembles the infamous picture of a man falling from the World Trade Center on 9/11. The photograph was originally captured by an Associated Press employee, and the photograph has drawn widely different remarks. Some think the photo is an important piece of history, while others think the picture isn't humane.

The main difference between the Falling Man NFT and the AP photograph is that the person in the NFT is wearing an astronaut helmet. The helmet is speculated to represent the default astronaut avatar that users of the GameStop NFT start off with. The minting party sold two different collections of the NFT, where the cheapest one was listed at approximately 0.65 ETH, which was worth $990.

There were reportedly 25 Falling Man NFTs minted, and multiple people had already begun purchasing the digital image. The NFT was even featured on Google searches when looking for GameStop’s NFT platform. After multiple complaints about the Falling Man digital project, the platform put out a tweet on July 23 saying that the NFTs violated its terms of service. Currently, the NFTs are suspended from the marketplace. The Jules user is also permanently banned from using the website.

While GameStop didn't mint the NFT, there has been widespread outrage on social media, and many are claiming that GameStop is selling 9/11 NFTs. Some have even claimed Jules is one of GameStop’s personal digital artists.

The gaming company has no relations with the artist, and it simply seems like it was a mistake on their end. However, the creators who can mint on the marketplace beta have to be selected and approved by GameStop NFT, so the company is responsible for the incident.

At the moment, the featured link and image to the Falling Man NFT can still be seen on Google when searching for “GameStop NFTs” or other related searches. However, when you click on the link, it’s just a blank page. The gaming company was going to have a difficult time competing with already established NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, and Coinbase NFT, but this trending incident is only going to make it more difficult to attract sellers and creators once beta testing is over.