Blockchain gaming studio and fantasy IP Eldarune has officially announced that it is closing down, with the shutdown said to lead to the $ELDA token being moved to a new company instead of disappearing, potentially giving token holders utility for a new project.

Why Is Eldarune Shutting Down?

The Eldarune team said that the reason behind the shutdown comes as a result of funding challenges and the current circumstances of the blockchain gaming market. This is sadly the most common reason we’ve seen cause studios to close down their gaming projects over the past few months, and sometimes lead to entire company closures, not just in web3 gaming, but in the gaming industry in general as well.

“Over the years, we’ve built a strong community, launched playtests, and achieved milestones that wouldn’t have been possible without you. Together, we reached hundreds of thousands of players, topped charts, and made Eldarune a name recognized across Web3 and beyond.”

“But despite these achievements, the realities of the current Web3 gaming market and funding challenges have forced us to make a difficult decision. Unfortunately, we cannot continue operating Eldarune as it stands today,” reads a piece of the lengthy farewell letter image embedded in the official X announcement post.

The team expressed their gratitude to its community for its passion and support, and that despite failing to meet the mark, the developers are “proud of the progress we’ve made and grateful to have shared this journey with you.”

What Happens to the $ELDA Token?

The same unfortunate X announcement claims that the $ELDA token will not disappear, but will instead be moved over to a new company that is said to be “an independent infrastructure and technology project.”

A name was not provided, but the announcement states that the new project will carry forward the team’s vision “in a different form, one we believe will create long-term value and opportunity for our community.” Perhaps this means that the Eldarune name won’t necessarily be gone forever, or the $ELDA token will simply be repurposed for a different kind of project with new utility.

At the time of the X announcement, August 29, $ELDA was still listed on centralized exchange MEXC, and token holders still had time to withdraw their holdings, but it seems that the delisting has now officially happened.

“We are heartbroken that we couldn’t bring Eldarune’s full story to life, but this is not the end—rather, a new beginning built on everything we’ve learned together. Thank you again for being with us on this path. Your support has meant everything.”

The game’s Telegram group is still open at the time of writing, where messages seem to suggest that a new group will be opened soon for the new project.

About Eldarune

Eldarune was a multi-chain, Seedify-incubated blockchain gaming ecosystem set in a fantasy universe comprising of 4 different web3 games, all powered by the $ELDA token: World of Elymnias (WoE), Heroes of Eldarune (HoE), ELDA Rush, and Journey.

World of Elymnias was an AI-powered medieval idle RPG that could be played on Android devices in open beta. Players were able to fight their way through PvE dungeons to earn items and characters referred to as Champions before diving into the PvP arena to compete for rewards. It was possible to play for free on the BNB Chain by minting a free Elymnias Pack NFT on the ecosystem's platform Digard to gain soulbound assets.

Next to WoE was Heroes of Eldarune, a trading card game in which players create decks out of 10 Champions NFTs to compete in PvP battles, or use a free deck instead. It was available in closed beta on web browsers, with each Champion having their own unique abilities and differing stats to give players various playstyle options and strategies to use to secure victory, while the rarity of the asset determined the number of Mana Points players needed during a match in order to place them on the battlefield. Eldarune secured a 50,000 IMX grant in May 2024 to help with development of this web3 card game.

The ecosystem didn’t just attempt to cater to idle RPG and TCG fans, but also to MOBA gamers with ELDA Rush, a web3 game that was set to feature 3-lane MOBA battles but also Diablo-like dungeons to fight through. The community had the option to take part in closed alpha testing by applying to a waitlist.

The 4th and last game in this ecosystem was Eldarune Journey, a high-stakes and text-based narrative game in which NFT holders could risk their assets in hopes of gaining valuable rewards on the BNB Chain. Players could go on seafaring adventures for $ELDA and NFT rewards with the game’s initial beta launch back in July 2024, when the on-chain title went live with 1 out of 5 journals. Each journal was set to consist of a couple of different stories that players could choose to play in any order by sending Champion NFTs on risky adventures. Each story had specific entry requirements, came with varying completion times and success rates, and also had a limited number of participation spots. Players could see what the prizes for a mission were before starting it, and it was possible to equip their Champions with useful items to hopefully help them complete the mission successfully while having to pay $ELDA tokens to send the heroes with their equipped items.

But all of these games now seem to be pretty much gone. In the next few days, the community will likely find out what the new project is all about, and hopefully learn more about the $ELDA token’s significance in this potential new chapter.

There have been many shutdown announcements over the past few months. Last month, Proof of Play announced that Pirate Nation is shutting down, while Tokyo Beast shut down just 2 months after launch. In July, Unioverse shut down after a 6-month struggle. Earlier this year we also saw Blast Royale shut down, but go open source.

These are just some of the many we’ve covered throughout this year. Check out our piece on why so many web3 games are shutting down and what new projects can do better.