Summary
- Yield Guild Games is shutting down its crypto game publishing division, including its website, launchpad, and titles such as LOL Land and Waifu Sweeper by August 1.
- The company cited the downturn in the crypto market as the reason for the unsustainability of the business, resulting in the elimination of 35 positions.
- YGG is shifting focus towards the AI data sector, aiming to provide datasets derived from gaming behaviors for AI training.
Yield Guild Games, a blockchain gaming organization, announced on Monday its decision to close YGG Play, its publishing arm dedicated to casual crypto games, attributing the move to the ongoing challenges in both the crypto market and the video game industry.
This closure signifies a withdrawal from a strategy the Web3 entity had been actively promoting earlier this year, which involved creating "casual degen" games—short-form titles infused with crypto rewards aimed at gamers who don't fit the traditional mold.
YGG Play had launched its own original game, LOL Land, as a proof of concept, and secured agreements for nine additional games, partnered with the Pudgy Penguins NFT brand, and introduced a token launchpad, reporting a total revenue exceeding $9 million by the first quarter of 2026.
However, the crypto gaming sector has faced significant difficulties recently, with many well-known blockchain games shutting down since early last year and investors avoiding crypto game studios. Additionally, crypto prices have dropped sharply since late last year, with Bitcoin nearly halving from its peak in October, while the traditional gaming industry has also seen widespread layoffs, including from Xbox last Monday.
In light of the current market conditions, the company decided to close the publishing division, resulting in the layoff of 35 employees, while aiming to give Yield Guild more runway to pursue its AI-focused transition.
Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild, stated, "Ending YGG Play is a tough choice, but it stems from market realities rather than product issues. I am proud of what our team achieved under challenging circumstances, and their work stands as a testament to their skill and commitment. Although this unit is closing, YGG's vision and mission remain unchanged. We are still wholly committed to leveraging technology to create new economic opportunities globally."
It’s unfortunate news today as we announce the closure of our Web3 game publishing unit @YGG_Play, affecting 35 jobs. We are dedicated to providing an additional 8 weeks of pay for our team to assist with the transition and will support them in finding new positions.
Games from YGG Play - @LOLLandGame @waifusweeper… https://t.co/gzpaG98KwQ
— Gabby Dizon | YGG (@gabusch) July 6, 2026
The YGG Play website, along with its launchpad and games like LOL Land and Waifu Sweeper, will cease operations by August 1. However, two games from the platform, Gigachatbat and Ragnarok Breaker, will continue to function under their original developers following a transition period.
Yield Guild will now focus its resources on providing data for AI training, believing that the decision-making processes of video game players can yield valuable behavioral datasets for AI developers. As of Q1, the company reported a treasury of $20.6 million in assets, which it anticipates will extend its operational capacity for four years post-restructuring.
Yield Guild Games emerged as a notable player during the 2021 play-to-earn boom, prominently supporting the monster-battling game Axie Infinity through a "scholarship" model that loaned NFT assets to players in exchange for a share of their in-game token earnings. The organization received investment from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz in August 2021 amid the crypto gaming surge.
Following the economic decline of Axie Infinity in 2022 and the downturn of the play-to-earn model, Yield Guild transitioned in 2024 to developing blockchain infrastructure for various crypto gaming guilds, before launching YGG Play in 2025.
As of now, Yield Guild's YGG token has seen a 4% increase, trading at approximately $0.023, though it has experienced an 84% decline over the past year and remains down 99.8% from its all-time high of $11.17 reached in 2021.