Axie Infinity Developer Cuts Workforce to Focus on New Game

Sky Mavis, the studio behind the Web3 game Axie Infinity and the Ronin sidechain, will lay off 21% of its staff as part of a strategic reorganization, according to co-founder and CEO Trung Nguyen.

2024 has been a transformative year for Sky Mavis. The Ronin Wallet surpassed 10 million downloads. Today, Ronin is the third most used Blockchain in the world with more than 1.1 million daily active addresses.

As crypto-friendly policies gain traction, we anticipate a wave of…

— trungfinity.ron (@trungfinity) November 23, 2024

Nguyen explained the decision as a “shift in priorities.”

“This is not related to the budget or the financial well-being of the company. On the contrary, it is a strategic move that allows for a clearer focus and positions Sky Mavis for hypergrowth in 2025 and beyond,” Nguyen wrote.

All affected employees will receive severance packages and assistance in finding “new opportunities.”

The financial resources freed up will be directed by Sky Mavis towards further development of the Ronin blockchain, wallet, marketplace, and applications. Nguyen also announced the creation of a “new Axie game,” but did not disclose details.

According to DappRadar, several assets based on the network have significantly dropped in value. NFTs featuring Axie game characters are currently priced at $0.33, though they were valued at over $700 at their peak in 2022.

The all-time high for the native token AXS was $164.9 in 2021 — it is now trading at approximately $8.07.

The RON token performed well in March 2024, reaching an all-time high of $4.45. Its current price is $1.77.

The Ronin sidechain has been repeatedly targeted by hackers. In 2022, a breach became the largest incident in the DeFi segment, with attackers stealing over $625 million.

In February 2024, Axie Infinity and Sky Mavis co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin had $9.7 million stolen from his personal wallets.

The latest attack occurred in August, when unknown individuals withdrew over $11 million, but later returned the funds.