Axie Infinity Creator Sky Mavis Lays Off 21% as Part of Restructuring

Sky Mavis, the developer of Axie Infinity, has cut 21% of its workforce to refocus on core products and align with its long-term vision. Over the weekend, CEO Trung Nguyen clarified that the decision was unrelated to the company’s budget or financial stability.

“Instead, it is a strategic move that allows for a sharper focus and positioning Sky Mavis for hypergrowth in 2025 and beyond,” he said on X.

The layoffs are expected to impact about 50 employees out of the 250-member global team. Affected staff will receive severance packages and assistance with job placement.

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

How Sky Mavis Transformed Gaming with Axie Infinity

Founded in Vietnam, Sky Mavis revolutionized blockchain gaming with the launch of Axie Infinity in 2018. A team of Vietnamese entrepreneurs and developers led the initiative, aiming to blend traditional gaming mechanics with blockchain.

They introduced the “play-to-earn” model, enabling players to earn crypto through gaming, creating an entirely new genre in the industry.

Axie Infinity remains Sky Mavis’s biggest success, drawing inspiration from games like Pokémon. Players collect, battle, breed and trade creatures called Axies, which are unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Each Axie’s distinct traits add to its collectibility and value within the game’s ecosystem.

The game gained massive popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as the play-to-earn model captured global attention. At its height, the game drew millions of players, with daily active users reaching hundreds of thousands.

New Axie Game, Marketplace, and Developer Ecosystem Expansion in Focus

In 2022, hackers carried out a massive attack on Sky Mavis, stealing crypto worth nearly $600m from the Ronin Network, a blockchain designed specifically for Axie Infinity.

Sky Mavis quickly pledged to fully compensate affected users to restore player trust. To cover the financial losses, it raised $150m in a funding round led by Binance.

Going forward, Nguyen Trung announced that the company aims to expand the Ronin Network to support more developers while focusing on enhancing the Ronin wallet. The company also plans to prioritize building the Mavis marketplace, launching a new Axie game and exploring opportunities in Web3 game publishing.