Sky Mavis Teases New Axie Infinity Game After Laying Off 21% of Workforce

• Sky Mavis teased a major comeback with a new Axie game. 

• The development came as the company laid off 21% of its workforce. 

• The new game is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025. 

Sky Mavis, the Web3 developer behind Axie Infinity and Ronin blockchain, is gearing up to launch a new game in 2025 after a massive layoff. 

The Singapore-based blockchain startup seeks a comeback after its valuation plunged from $3 billion to $1.95 billion in July last year when it reimbursed all Ronin Network bridge attack victims with its own balance sheet. The March 2022 hack, classified as one of the biggest in Web3 history, claimed $173,600 Ether and about $25.5 million in USDC, bringing its total loss to $625 million at the time. 

While Sky Mavis survived the attack and sprung back to business, pushing Ronin to claim the third most used blockchain with over 1.1 million daily active addresses, it has been forced to resharpen its focus to remain competitive. The startup began by shaking up its workforce last week as a “strategic move.” 

Sky Mavis Lays Off 21% of Workforce

Sky Mavis co-founder and CEO Trung Nguyen recently took to X to announce the layoffs, noting that it was a “tough decision” amid the need for agility to open Ronin in Q1. 

“The decision to part ways with talented team members was not made lightly and does not reflect their contributions to Sky Mavis. It is a shift in priorities aimed at aligning our resources with our long-term vision.” Nguyen wrote. “We recognize that today’s decision deeply impacts people’s lives and it can be challenging to look ahead to a brighter future.” 

According to the announcement, Sky Mavis has rewarded the affected employees with “robust” severance packages and resources to help them transition and find new career opportunities. Nguyen clarified that the layoffs weren’t related to the company’s budget or financial health. He termed the job cuts a strategic move aimed at positioning Sky Mavis for “hypergrowth.” 

Per the CEO, the company will focus on its current products going forward rather than trying to build Web3 applications for all users. The blockchain startup is keen on bolstering its Ronin Wallet and Waypoint, Mavis Marketplace, Axie Infinity, Web3 game publishing, and expanding the Ronin Network for more developers. 

Additionally, Sky Mavis plans to release a new game. 

New Axie Infinity in the Making 

Reiterating Sky Mavis’ commitment to empowering gamers with economic freedom, Nguyen confirmed that the remaining team members are developing a new Axie game, expected to debut in the first quarter of next year. 

The CEO said Sky Mavis would leverage the lessons and institutional knowledge it has gained over the past few years to build the game and release its trailer “as soon as it’s ready.”  

Industry observers are keen to see whether the new game would beat the original Axie Infinity, which recorded insane milestones at its peak. In 2021, three years after its launch, the Axie Infinity community’s treasury eclipsed $2 billion in value, while the number of Axie holders surged by 10,363%. 

At the same time, the company debuted AXS staking and launched Katana with $1.2 billion liquidity and over 20,000 daily traders as it sought to branch out to decentralized finance (DeFi).