Pixelmon has shut down its game development operations and laid off its gaming team after a publisher testing period failed to generate a long-term commercial agreement, bringing an end to its latest effort to build games around its NFT-based franchise.
The company announced the decision through its official Discord, saying several external publishers had tested its games using their own marketing budgets, tools and user-acquisition strategies. While the publishers did not reject the titles outright, the results were not strong enough to justify moving forward with longer-term publishing deals.
Pixelmon said all members of its gaming team had been given notice. The company also plans to take its games offline and dismantle the systems supporting them. It did not disclose how many employees were affected.
The project acknowledged that the publisher tests produced results that fell between outright failure and commercial success.
“We think we have been in this ‘not too bad but not good enough’ territory now for over 2 years,” Pixelmon said in its announcement.
According to the company, publishers suggested additional polishing followed by another round of testing within weeks. Pixelmon management rejected that option, saying it had previously agreed that the latest publisher exercise would serve as the final test of the games’ commercial potential.
Gaming Team to Leave After Shutdown
Affected employees will receive severance and other benefits required under the laws of their respective jurisdictions. Once the games and related infrastructure are taken offline, employees will enter garden leave and complete their notice periods from home.
Pixelmon said it will retain a smaller team made up of senior and multidisciplinary employees. That group will investigate opportunities outside traditional game development as the company looks for a new business model.
The remaining team is expected to discuss the proposed direction during a Thursday town hall. The company is also expected to provide more information about potential AI-related products and explain how the smaller team plans to continue engaging with the Pixelmon community.
Refunds Ruled Out for Token and NFT Holders
Pixelmon said refunds for token and NFT holders are not possible under its current corporate structure.
The company explained that it has equity shareholders, including funds and other financial investors that provided capital linked to the acquisition of Pixelmon’s intellectual property and the transfer of funds from its original New Zealand-based entity.
Pixelmon said its remaining non-tax-escrowed funds will instead be used to pursue another attempt at finding product-market fit outside its current gaming strategy. If the effort does not succeed, the company said it could ultimately shut down.
Pixelmon’s website identifies MON as the token powering its ecosystem and links to the Pixelmon Gen1 NFT collection on OpenSea. The announcement did not specify what level of future technical, operational or commercial support will remain for the token or NFT collections following the gaming shutdown.
Decision Follows Pixelmon’s Troubled NFT Launch
The decision marks another major setback for a project that has undergone significant changes since its NFT launch in 2022.
Pixelmon raised more than $70 million through the sale of 10,000 NFTs. The collection attracted widespread criticism after its revealed artwork differed substantially from the promotional material shown before the launch, according to contemporary reporting by The Defiant.
The project subsequently changed leadership and continued working on several gaming products in an effort to rebuild the Pixelmon brand.
That strategy has now been abandoned following the unsuccessful publisher tests. The company’s remaining team will instead focus on identifying a non-gaming business opportunity.
Pixelmon is expected to outline its proposed next steps at Thursday’s town hall, while its existing games are scheduled to be taken offline and their supporting infrastructure dismantled.
