Axie Infinity developer cuts 21% workforce: report

Axie Infinity creator Sky Mavis is laying off 50 employees as part of broader efforts to adapt to post-hack and market changes.

Sky Mavis, developer of blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, said it will lay off 21% of its staff (about 50 employees) as part of efforts to streamline operations and focus on core products, TechInAsia has learned.

Nguyen Thanh Trung, the firm’s co-founder, emphasized in an

“The decision to part ways with talented team members was not taken lightly and does not reflect their contributions to Sky Mavis. […] To better focus on these products and have the agility needed to open Ronin in the first quarter, we made the difficult decision to lay off 21% of our workforce.

Nguyen Thanh Trung

Trung also shared that Sky Mavis will not be taking new directions, saying: “Instead of building products for all users, we’re doubling down on what makes Sky Mavis truly outstanding.” As a result, the game developer will focus on the Ronin wallet and look to expand the Ronin Network “for more builders.” Following the news, the price of the Axie Infinity (AXS) token fell by 3.78%.

Founded in 2018, Sky Mavis operates on a win-win play model where players earn non-fungible tokens and in-game currency in addition to purchasing monsters. In 2022, North Korea-linked hackers launched a multi-level social engineering attack on the company, causing a loss of $600 million. In response, Sky Mavis switched to a free-to-play model.