Splinterlands to Reduce Team Size By 45%, Points at Current Market Conditions

Splinterlands, one of the most played Play to Earn (P2E) games, confirmed on Thursday that it is laying off 45% of its staff in light of current market conditions. The NFT-based strategy card game distanced itself from the FTX saga, claiming that it didn’t have funds in at-risk exchanges or services, nor did it have debt or use leverage with funds. 

The Hearthstone competitor regretfully shared that the value of its cryptocurrency holdings has significantly decreased. This has shortened its available runway and forced it to cut corners. Additionally, the amount of revenue that Splinterlands could bring in also took a hit due to the burgeoning chaos of the market.

What’s Stored For The Future?

Splinterlands supposedly had built up a long runway of funds, consisting of both fiat and crypto assets, to pay for its road map. The card-based game developer recently announced its newest addition, Tower Defense, for mobile users and had built a lot of hype around its upcoming title.

However, given the fear-driven and uncertain market conditions, Splinterlands had to rip the band-aid off and make tough decisions. In response to the unfortunate events, the play-to-win card game is shifting its focus towards delivering on its promises to the community. 

Splinterlands, in its blog post, shared that it will not be releasing any new games or presales for the foreseeable future and, instead, was prioritizing working on its updated roadmap for 2023. Fortunately, Splinterlands will not be shelving Tower Defense and other games that it had promised earlier this year, staying true to its word. 

Here’s what Spliterland’s updated roadmap will include for 2023: 

• LAND
• Runi
• Tower Defense
• Rebellion
• SPS Validator Nodes
• New Player Experience 
• Gameplay & Reward Updates 
• DEC & Voucher Sinks
• Genesis League: Goals

Splinterlands reports that through this restructuring, coupled with a planned capital raise, it can allegedly position itself better, not worrying about running out of runway. Splinterlands aims to focus on putting things on the table which will bring immense value to its ecosystem and community over the long term.  

Splinterlands shared a heart-felt notion to eventually propel to new heights in the future thanks to its community. Moreover, the studio suggested that the community is free to sell its assets, as some people may see the restructuring as a reason to dump their assets. However, Splinterlands later added that it’s confident in riding out the bear market and global recession to build better products and deliver value to its community. 

On the Flipside

• Splinterlands isn’t the only company that has had to cut corners due to the chaotic market conditions. Twitter, Meta, Amazon, and other tech giants are also going through a wave of layoffs. Subsequently, competitor blockchain gaming companies Mythical Games and Dapper Labs have also announced staff reductions.   
• Despite reporting over 100,000 daily players and ranking second on DappRadar, Splinterlands couldn’t stay afloat in current market conditions, reporting a drop in its revenue. 
• Competitors like Alien Worlds, Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and more are still going strong. These companies are also still hiring and holding competitions. 

Why You Should Care

Splinterlands’ demise may seem questionable, considering it ranks on top of the leaderboards. The restructuring could lead to people worrying about the project and the Web 3.0 gaming space more generally. Considering the uncertain market conditions, we could see more Web 3.0 gaming company lay-offs.

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