Sky Mavis, the maker of Axie Infinity, has laid off 21% of its workforce to focus on core products and align with its long-term vision. Over the weekend, CEO Trung Nguyen explained that the decision was not related to the company’s budget or financial stability.
“Instead, this is a strategic move to more accurately focus and position Sky Mavis for hyper-growth in 2025 and beyond,” he – he said in X. The layoffs are expected to include about 50 employees from a global team of 250. Affected employees will receive severance packages and job placement assistance.
Founded in Vietnam, Sky Mavis revolutionized blockchain gaming with the launch of Axie Infinity in 2018. The initiative was led by a team of Vietnamese entrepreneurs and developers whose goal was to combine traditional game mechanics with blockchain.
They introduced a play-to-earn model , allowing players to earn cryptocurrencies through games, creating a whole new genre in the industry.
Axie Infinity remains Sky Mavis’ biggest success, taking inspiration from games like Pokémon. Players collect, battle, breed and trade creatures called Axies, which are unique non-exchangeable tokens (NFTs). The unique characteristics of each Axie increase its collectability and value in the game’s ecosystem.
The game gained immense popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the play-to-earn model attracted worldwide attention. At its peak, the game attracted millions of players, and the number of daily active users reached hundreds of thousands.
In 2022, hackers launched a massive attack on Sky Mavis, stealing nearly $600 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the Ronin Network, a blockchain designed specifically for Axie Infinity.
Sky Mavis quickly pledged to fully compensate affected users to restore player confidence. To cover the financial losses, it raised $150 million in a funding round led by Binance.
Looking ahead, Nguyen Trung announced that the company plans to expand the Ronin Network to serve more developers, while focusing on improving the Ronin portfolio. The company also plans to prioritize building the Mavis marketplace, launching a new Axie game and exploring opportunities in Web3 game publishing.
