Crypto Gaming Recovery Fund Launched for Struggling Players
The newly established Crypto Gaming Recovery Fund aims to assist players affected by the shutdown of various crypto games, providing them with resources for Splinterlands. With an allocation of $500,000 in tokens and in-game assets to be distributed over the next seven years, the Splinterlands team is actively seeking additional contributors to help provide game assets for those impacted. This initiative comes as many blockchain games are closing down due to diminishing hype and funding, prompting crypto investors to shift their focus.
Splinterlands Opens Doors for Affected Players
In a bid to support users from now-defunct blockchain games, the trading card game Splinterlands invites these players to take advantage of its newly launched recovery fund. This fund allows access to $500,000 worth of crypto tokens and in-game items over a seven-year period. The Splinterlands team has confirmed ongoing discussions with other projects on the Hive blockchain to contribute assets to the fund, and they encourage the broader gaming community to help bridge the gap for users who have lost their games.
Eligibility and Claim Process for Players
Currently, access to the Crypto Gaming Recovery Fund is limited to players from the discontinued titles Pirate Nation, Tokyo Beast, and Walking Dead: Empires. To benefit from the fund, affected users must create an account on Splinterlands, purchase a $10 item (which provides equal in-game credits), and provide their wallet address containing items from eligible games—these items will remain with the player. They can then gradually unlock assets over the next seven years, provided they remain active within the Splinterlands ecosystem, which is evaluated through various monthly challenges.
Industry Leaders Call for Collaboration
Dave McCoy, Chief Operating Officer at Splinterlands, has expressed an open invitation to competitors in the crypto gaming space to join the recovery initiative. McCoy emphasized the importance of collaboration for the growth of the industry, stating that Splinterlands is merely the first to take this step, with hopes that others will follow suit.
Widespread Shutdowns in Crypto Gaming
The current year has witnessed a surge in the number of crypto game closures, with numerous prominent projects, including Deadrop and Ember Sword, shutting their doors. While the reasons for each game’s demise vary, they share a common outcome: leaving players without a game to engage with, many of whom have invested significant funds into these projects.
Addressing the Community’s Need for Support
Blaze, Splinterlands’ sales and marketing lead, articulated the emotional toll of seeing a project fail after investing hope and resources into it. He highlighted the need for someone to take action to assist those left in a difficult situation, leading to the establishment of the recovery fund.
Governance and Fund Allocation
The Crypto Gaming Recovery Fund operates under a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which decides on the eligibility of games for support. Each participating game is assigned a designated portion of the fund, although specific allocations per game have not been disclosed. In the first year, the fund will distribute 2 million SPS tokens and 5,000 Rebellion packs, with increases planned for subsequent years, scaling up to 10 million SPS and 25,000 packs by year seven.
Splinterlands: A Resilient Player in the Crypto Space
Since its inception in 2018 as Steem Monsters, later rebranding to Splinterlands in 2019, the game has evolved as a strategic trading card game featuring NFT cards on the Hive blockchain. The governance token, SPS, launched in July 2021, reached a high of $1.07, but has since plummeted to just $0.008. McCoy noted that, throughout its journey, Splinterlands has navigated numerous challenges that crypto games typically face, attributing its longevity to a more sustainable game model compared to others in the sector.
Looking Ahead: A Hopeful Future for Crypto Gaming
McCoy views the ongoing wave of game shutdowns as a necessary cleansing of the industry, while expressing hope that the Crypto Gaming Recovery Fund marks the beginning of a revitalization for the crypto gaming landscape. He reiterated the fund’s goal is not solely for Splinterlands, but for the entire industry, welcoming any game developers willing to contribute to this collective effort.
