While the Meme Lauchpads, the children of the version, are in full swing, some projects are becoming abandoned children of the version.
For example, the blockchain game projects that were very popular in the last cycle have recently experienced a wave of suspension of operations.
On May 16, Nyan Heroes, a former star game project in the Solana ecosystem, officially stopped operating due to lack of funds. The developer 9 Lives Interactive released a statement on the X platform, admitting that it is impossible to obtain more funds to complete the game.
In just one day, the NYAN token fell by as much as 37.2%, and then FDV fell to only around 5 M, evaporating nearly 99% from its historical high.
The lonelier you are at the bottom, the brighter you are at the top.
Recall that this game once attracted 1 million test players and had a Steam wishlist of 250,000; but its current market value may not even be as good as that of a meme.
However, the collapse of Nyan Heroes is not an isolated case. Recently, many blockchain game projects have announced the suspension of operations or development, with previous financing amounts ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars, but all of them have come to an end without exception.
The cyclical nature of the crypto industry is vividly reflected in blockchain games. When the wind is favorable, high financing is achieved, assets are launched first and then products are made, and when the wind is unfavorable, the market gradually flattens out or even returns to zero...
Some community commentators joked that the decline of blockchain games is a natural selection.
A group of people who rose and fell
Coincidentally, in 2025, several blockchain game projects such as Blast Royale, The Walking Dead: Empires, and The Mystery Society announced the suspension of operations or development one after another.
These projects once attracted countless attention with high financing and P2E (Play-to-Earn) model, but they went from prosperity to a sad end in just a few years.
Nyan Heroes: The bubble burst of cat heroes
This was indeed a star project in the Solana ecosystem. With the idea of a cat-themed hero shooting game, it has raised a total of US$13 million, including a US$2.5 million seed round in November 2021, a US$7.5 million Series A round in May 2022 (valued at US$100 million), and a US$3 million additional round in March 2024.
The game test attracted 1 million players (official data), and the wish list on Steam and Epic Games Store reached 250,000. The launch of NYAN tokens in May 2024 further boosted market enthusiasm. However, on May 16, 2025, the developer 9 Lives Interactive announced that it would stop development due to inability to obtain more funds.
Blast Royale: The sad exit of the battle king
Blast Royale is a mobile battle royale survival game based on Polygon, featuring 6-minute fast-paced battles and P2E mechanics. 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 it never achieved a large-scale breakthrough. In May 2025, the developer First Light Games announced that it had decided to terminate development due to internal review and planned to officially shut down on June 30.
The Walking Dead: Empires: IP halo doesn’t work
Developed by Ember Entertainment and published by Gala Games, this survival MMORPG is based on the IP of the well-known American TV series The Walking Dead and incorporates an NFT ownership mechanism.
Although the project did not disclose the specific amount of financing, relying on the financial support and IP advantages of Gala Games, the open beta test lasted for more than a year, attracting fans to build bases and participate in battles. However, in May 2025, Gala Games announced that it would terminate the project on July 31 due to comprehensive considerations.
The Mystery Societ: The short-lived mystery game
Created by the former Disney and Club Penguin team, it focuses on Web3 social reasoning gameplay. In September 2024, it received $3 million in seed round financing, led by Shima Capital. The project has been well received for its community-driven and innovative mechanisms, attracting active players to participate in early testing. However, on February 25, 2025, the developer Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow announced that it would suspend development due to industry challenges and insufficient funds.
We also made a table summarizing the blockchain games that have announced the cessation of operations or development.
It can be seen that these games basically raised a good amount of money in the last cycle, and they all used the consumption mechanism of combining NFT and token assets with the mechanism in the game.
Well-known VCs flock to invest, but it is still difficult to face the reality of failure.
Under the surface, the real driving force is the loss of players, the imbalance of the P2E model, and the misalignment of assets and development priorities. They boast high financing and promise grand visions, but rarely deliver playable products.
Some things are also a tacit understanding of the industry: the product itself is not the focus, and no one really wants to play these games. A track that competes with creativity and content density meets the stamina and money-conscious gamblers, and the result is predictable.
It rises and falls, the rise is due to financing and the fall is due to the way of playing.
Genes determine destiny
You may have noticed that the more ironic thing is the reason why these blockchain game projects announced the suspension of operations - lack of funds.
Almost all the blockchain game projects that have ceased operations have officially announced that the reason for their closure is insufficient funds, making it difficult to create a high-quality game.
Are these blockchain games really short of money? From a purely gaming perspective, perhaps not.
For example, Nyan Heros raised 13 million US dollars. Let’s not talk about the game for now. What does 13 million US dollars mean?
Let’s not talk about the top 3A games. Let’s take the seventh generation of the top stand-alone game IP “Chinese Paladin” for example. According to public reports, its development cost is 67 million yuan. In other words, all the financing funds of Nyan Heros were used to make games, which is more than enough to make a “Chinese Paladin”.
The cases overseas are even more shocking.
The well-known development game Stardew Valley was created by single developer Eric Barone in four years with only an investment of about US$50,000. After it was launched in 2016, it has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, becoming a legend in independent games.
The graphics of this game are not much different from those of some game projects that have raised over a million dollars.
This also shows that games are products that require great attention to creative quality and content density. One person and $50,000 can win by relying on creativity and gameplay.
Compared with the blockchain games that have reportedly suspended development due to lack of funds, the contrast is very obvious - funds will always be insufficient, especially when you dont want to use the funds to develop games.
The genes of blockchain games have determined that they cannot produce games in the direction of high quality and slow work in the traditional game industry; they are more like a resource bureau and a capital pool, and need to design a suitable operating rhythm and investment rules to meet the needs of various primary and secondary investors.
Raising funds first and then doing things has become the optimal solution for this track. As for whether it can be done or not, that is another matter.
Looking at the success of traditional games, they actually did things first and raised funds later.
For example, Black Myth: Wukong only developed and designed a few scenes in 2020. It released trial clips to amaze players with the quality and proved its potential before it received more subsequent financing.
New domestic second-tier game forces such as Genshin Impact and Naruto also adopt the method of segmented development and gradual iteration. Each version attempts to present new plots and characters. After players feel immersed and pay for the characters, they slowly accumulate funds and develop more versions and works.
These games are centered around content, with plot, art, and mechanics accounting for the majority. Financing is an auxiliary rather than the purpose. Web3 and traditional games are almost opposite, with speculative genes running through them:
Players are investors, and games are Ponzi schemes—which are incompatible with the patience and ingenuity required for games. The track itself is not hopeless, but the model of funding first, then playing games is a dead end.
The rise and fall of blockchain games is actually the inevitable result of the misalignment between industry genes and user needs. Capital and concepts can generate short-term popularity, but they cannot support a truly viable gaming ecosystem in the long run.
As more and more games are proven to be falsified, it is worth looking forward to separating the true from the false after the wave of suspensions.
