Yield Guild Kills Crypto Game Publishing Arm, Lays Off 35 in AI Pivot

Yield Guild Games, a blockchain-based gaming organization, announced Monday that it is shutting down YGG Play, its publishing arm for crypto-infused casual games, citing the crypto market downturn alongside broader video game industry struggles.

The unit's closure marks a retreat from a strategy the Web3 company had championed as recently as this year: building "casual degen" games---bite-sized titles laced with crypto incentives---for crypto enthusiasts who don't consider themselves traditional gamers.

YGG Play launched its own original game LOL Land as a proof of concept and had signed nine additional games, partnered with the Pudgy Penguins NFT brand, and debuted a token launchpad, reporting more than $9 million in lifetime revenue through the first quarter of 2026.

However, the broader crypto gaming industry has struggled in recent years, with numerous prominent blockchain-based games shutting down since early last year and investors steering clear of crypto game studios. And that's not all: crypto prices have also plummeted since late last year, with Bitcoin down nearly 50% from its October peak, while the traditional video game industry has faced mass layoffs---including from Xbox on Monday.

Given the current market environment, the team said it made the decision to shutter the publishing division, cut 35 jobs as a result, and give Yield Guild more runway as it pursues an AI-driven pivot.

"Sunsetting YGG Play is a heavy decision, but it is a market decision, not a product decision," said Yield Guild co-founder Gabby Dizon, in a statement. "I am proud of what this team achieved under such tough conditions, and what they built is a testament to their talent and dedication. Although this business unit is sunsetting, YGG's vision and mission hasn't changed. We are still fully dedicated to using technology to open up new economic opportunities for people globally."

The YGG Play website, its launchpad, and games including LOL Land and Waifu Sweeper will be retired by August 1. Two of the games on the platform, Gigachatbat and Ragnarok Breaker, will continue operating under their original developers, following a transition.

YGG said it will redirect its resources toward supplying data for artificial intelligence training, wagering that video game players' decision-making can generate valuable behavioral datasets for AI developers. The company reported a treasury of $20.6 million worth of assets as of Q1, which it said should extend its operating runway to four years following the restructuring.

Yield Guild Games was one of the standout companies of the 2021 play-to-earn boom, as a prominent organization that supported the growth of monster-battling game Axie Infinity via a "scholarship" program---a profit-sharing program that lent out NFT assets to players in exchange for a cut of their in-game token earnings. Yield Guild secured funding from VC giant Andreessen Horowitz in August 2021 amid the crypto gaming surge.

Yield Guild's YGG token is up about 4% on the day at a recent price of $0.023, but has fallen about 84% in the last year. It remains down 99.8% from its peak price of $11.17 set in 2021.

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