Players are investors, and games are Ponzi schemes—completely incompatible with the patience and craftsmanship required for gaming.
As the version offspring Meme Launchpads are thriving, some projects are becoming the discarded children of the version.
For instance, the once-popular blockchain game projects from the last cycle are now facing a wave of shutdowns.
On May 16, the former star game project of the Solana ecosystem, Nyan Heroes, announced its official shutdown due to "funding shortages." The developer, 9 Lives Interactive, released a statement on the X platform, admitting that they "could not secure additional funding to complete the game."
In just one day, the NYAN token plummeted by 37.2%, and subsequently, its fully diluted valuation (FDV) dropped to around 5 million, evaporating nearly 99% from its historical peak.
The depths of despair are as stark as the heights of glory.
Recall that this game once attracted 1 million test players and had a Steam wishlist of 250,000; yet its current market value may not even surpass that of a Meme dog.
However, the downfall of Nyan Heroes is not an isolated case. Recently, several blockchain game projects have announced shutdowns or paused development, with previous funding amounts ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars, all inevitably heading towards termination.
The cyclical nature of the crypto industry is vividly reflected in blockchain games. In favorable conditions, high financing occurs, assets are launched before products, and in adverse conditions, projects gradually lie flat or even go to zero…
Some community comments jokingly suggest that the decline of blockchain games is a form of "natural selection."
The Rise and Fall of the Boom
Coincidentally, in 2025, multiple blockchain game projects such as Blast Royale, The Walking Dead: Empires, and The Mystery Society announced shutdowns or paused development.
These projects once attracted countless eyes with high financing and the P2E (Play-to-Earn) model, yet within just a few years, they transitioned from peak popularity to a quiet demise.
Nyan Heroes: The Burst of the Cat Hero Bubble
This was indeed a star project in the Solana ecosystem, accumulating $13 million in funding thanks to its creative cat-themed hero shooting game, including a $2.5 million seed round in November 2021, a $7.5 million Series A round in May 2022 (valued at $100 million), and an additional $3 million round in March 2024.
The game testing attracted 1 million players (official data), and the Steam and Epic Games Store wishlists reached 250,000. The launch of the NYAN token in May 2024 further boosted market enthusiasm. However, on May 16, 2025, developer 9 Lives Interactive announced the halt of development due to "inability to secure additional funding."
Blast Royale: The Quiet Exit of the Battle King
Blast Royale is a mobile battle royale game based on Polygon, featuring fast-paced 6-minute battles and a P2E mechanism. In April 2022, the project raised $5 million through an ICO, with investors including Dragonfly Capital and Mechanism Capital.
The game attracted early players with its lightweight gameplay but never achieved a large-scale breakthrough. In May 2025, developer First Light Games announced the termination of development due to "internal review," planning to officially shut down on June 30.
The Walking Dead: Empires: The IP Halo Doesn't Help
Developed by Ember Entertainment and published by Gala Games, this survival MMORPG is based on the well-known TV series "The Walking Dead," incorporating an NFT ownership mechanism.
While the project did not disclose specific funding amounts, it relied on Gala Games' financial support and IP advantages, with open testing lasting over a year, attracting fans to build bases and participate in battles. However, in May 2025, Gala Games announced the termination of the project on July 31 due to "comprehensive considerations."
The Mystery Society: The Fleeting Moment of the Deduction Game
Created by a team from Disney and Club Penguin, this game focuses on Web3 social deduction gameplay and secured $3 million in seed funding in September 2024, led by Shima Capital. The project received praise for its community-driven and innovative mechanisms, attracting active players to participate in early testing. However, on February 25, 2025, developer Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow announced the suspension of development due to "industry challenges and funding shortages."
We also created a table summarizing the blockchain games that announced shutdowns or paused development.
It can be seen that these games generally raised decent amounts in the last cycle and coincidentally used mechanisms that combined NFTs and token assets with game consumption.
Famous VCs flocked to invest, yet the harsh reality of failure remains.
| Project Name | Funding Amount ($) | Highlights | Operation Time | Shutdown/Development Date | Stated Reason | Token Name | Investment Lineup | Token Status After Announcement | |------------------------|--------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------|--------------------------|-----------------------|------------|-------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------| | Nyan Heroes | 13M | 1 million test players, 250,000 Steam wishlist | ~3.5 years | May 16, 2025 | Funding shortage | NYAN | Three Arrows Capital, Mechanism Capital, DeFiance Capital | Price dropped about 49% on the same day | | Blast Royale | 5M | Polygon mobile battle mechanism | ~3 years | June 30, 2025 | Internal review, possible funding issues | NOOB | Dragonfly Capital, Mechanism Capital | Price stable, $0.0004372 on May 19 | | The Walking Dead: Empires | Not disclosed | Well-known IP licensed MMORPG | ~3.5 years | July 31, 2025 | Sustainability issues | None | Gala Games (publisher, specific VCs not disclosed) | No specific token | | The Mystery Society | 3M | Former Disney team involvement | 1 year | February 25, 2025 (paused) | Funding shortage | MYSTRY | Shima Capital | Token not launched |
Beneath the surface, player attrition, imbalances in the P2E model, and misaligned priorities in assets and development are the true driving forces. They boast high-profile financing and grand visions, yet few deliver playable products.
Moreover, some things are an unspoken industry consensus: the product itself is not the focus, and no one really wants to play these games. A track that competes on creativity and content density encounters players who are focused on stamina and financial acumen, leading to predictable outcomes.
The rise and fall are marked by high financing and poor gameplay.
Genes Determine Destiny
You may have noticed the more ironic aspect: the reasons these blockchain game projects announced for their shutdowns—"funding shortages."
The blockchain game projects that shut down almost always officially state that they are ceasing operations due to insufficient funds, making it difficult to create a high-quality game.
Do these blockchain games really lack money? From a pure game development perspective, perhaps not.
For instance, the $13 million raised by Nyan Heroes—regardless of the game's quality—what does $13 million represent?
Not to mention top-tier AAA games, even the pride of domestic gaming, the seventh installment of the top single-player game IP "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," reportedly had a development cost of 67 million yuan. This means that if Nyan Heroes used all its funding to develop a game, it could easily create a game of similar quality to "The Legend of Sword and Fairy."
The overseas examples are even more astonishing.
The well-known farming game "Stardew Valley" was developed by a single developer, Eric Barone, over four years with an investment of about $50,000. After its launch in 2016, it sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming a legend in independent gaming.
The graphics of this game are not much different from some projects that raised over a million dollars.
This illustrates that games are products that emphasize creative quality and content density; one person with $50,000 can succeed through creativity and gameplay.
When comparing the blockchain games that frequently claim "funding shortages" to pause development, the contrast is very clear—funding will always be insufficient, especially when there is a reluctance to use funds for game development.
The genes of blockchain games have already determined that they cannot pursue the high quality and meticulous craftsmanship of traditional game industries; they resemble resource management and funding schemes, needing to design suitable operational rhythms and investment rules to meet the needs of various primary and secondary investors.
The optimal solution in this track has become to secure funding first and then do the work; whether or not it can be accomplished is a secondary concern.
In contrast, the success of traditional games often involves doing the work first and then securing funding.
For example, "Black Myth: Wukong" only developed a few scenes in 2020 and released a demo that amazed players with its quality, proving its potential before securing further funding.
Similarly, domestic second-tier new forces like "Genshin Impact" and "Ning Chao" adopt a phased development and iterative approach, attempting to present new plots and characters in each version. Players feel immersed and are willing to pay for characters, gradually accumulating funds to develop more versions and works.
These games focus on content, with story, art, and mechanics taking precedence, while financing is auxiliary rather than the goal. Web3 and traditional games are almost opposites, with speculative genes running throughout:
Players are investors, and games are Ponzi schemes—completely incompatible with the patience and craftsmanship required for gaming. The track itself is not hopeless, but the "funding first, game later" model has reached a dead end.
The rise and fall of blockchain games is, in fact, an inevitable result of the misalignment between industry genes and user demands. Capital and concepts can create short-term hype, but they cannot sustain a truly vibrant game ecosystem in the long run.
As more and more games are disproven, the process of sifting through the falsehoods after the wave of shutdowns is something to look forward to.
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