Axie Infinity Fires 21% of its Employees

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Sky Mavis, the creator of Axie Infinity, is laying off 21% of its workforce in an effort to position itself for growth in the upcoming year. According to a report from TechInAsia, approximately 50 out of the company’s 250 global team members will be affected by the layoffs.

CEO and co-founder Trung Nguyen stated in a recent post on X that the decision to lay off employees is not due to financial struggles but rather a strategic move to focus on the company’s priorities for 2025 and beyond. This includes expanding the Ronin Network and wallet service, Mavis Marketplace, and developing a new game for Axie Infinity.

Sky Mavis was established in 2018 and gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic for its blockchain-based game, Axie Infinity, which allowed players to earn money while playing. At its peak, the game had 2.7 million daily active users and generated $214 million in weekly trading volume for in-game NFTs.

However, the company faced a setback when its Ronin Ethereum sidechain was hacked in 2022, resulting in a loss of about $600 million. The U.S. government blamed the hack on the North Korea-backed hacker group, Lazarus.