Just when we thought things were getting better, Tokyo Beast has announced it will officially shut down on August 24, at 08:00 UTC. The decision was made public on Tuesday, with the dev team pointing to rising costs and revenue issues. It's a sudden end for what many saw as one of this year's most promising web3 games, especially after 4 years in development and a $20 million (around £14.7 million) budget backing the project.

Game Closure Confirmed by Developer FZCO

The game's producer, Naoki Motohashi, said in a public letter that despite strong early support, the team could not continue operations. A full schedule for the shutdown and a breakdown of refund plans have been posted on the official Medium post.

To help answer player questions, the team will host an AMA on Discord at 10:30 UTC on July 24. Players can submit questions ahead of time, and the team has promised clear and honest replies.

Shutdown Schedule and Service End Dates

On July 22, all item sales in the Tokyo Beast store came to a stop. The BASE mode will go offline on July 31. The final matches and full game service will end on August 24. Refund applications will open August 25 and close on September 30. That date also marks the official removal of the app.

The team also confirmed that all community channels, including Discord and official social media, will stop updating after the shutdown date.

Overview of Tokyo Beast and Its Launch

Tokyo Beast had its global launch on June 8, after months of beta tests and major promotions. The game came from a large web2 studio and was backed by the Tokyo Games Foundation. It was built on the Immutable zkEVM network, with the goal of mixing traditional gameplay with web3 rewards.

Set in a futuristic Tokyo in the year 2124, players collected android fighters called BEASTs and battled in real-time 4v4 matches. The game had two main parts:

  • BASE mode for managing, breeding, and staking BEASTs
  • TRIALS mode for live strategic combat

Despite the short run, players praised its smooth onboarding and impressive 3D battles that didn't require a wallet to start.

$1 Million Championship and Early Success

Shortly after launch, Tokyo Beast rolled out a $1 million prize championship. The biggest tournament, held on June 21, offered a top prize of $14,500. Players and spectators could also place live match bets using free chips earned in-game.

Before the release, a closed beta in April offered $20,000 in TGT rewards. In May, an early access campaign gave 3,000 players a chance to try the game early, with $160,000 in daily lottery prizes.

On launch week, Tokyo Beast earned over $1 million in revenue and passed 300,000 downloads, showing strong early interest.

Problems Behind the Scenes

Even with all the excitement, Tokyo Beast faced deep problems. Web3 content creator @vert1dkrn said the game gave players easy ways to earn without spending money. He personally made $60 in just five days without donating anything.

The team also spent heavily on marketing. As noted in his tweet, they ran a "streamer program with 20 streamers in it", most of whom failed to deliver. Many small creators with fewer than 1k followers made four-figure payouts, while larger influencers were not even mentioned.

On top of that, the project "also just gave out money for free". Many players collected prize rewards without generating income for the game, making the model unsustainable. As @vert1dkrn put it, the game "was never profitable to begin with", even though he ranked it at the top of his tier list recently.

Compensation Plan for Players

Unlike most failed web3 games, Tokyo Beast will offer a structured compensation plan. Refunds will be paid in USDC, not TGT, to avoid price swings and protect future projects tied to the token.

The team has allocated a $350,000 pool, with item values based on their market price as of July 20.

Compensation breakdown by Tokyo Beast

Compensation Breakdown

  • BEAST NFTs: Average of $240.46 each
  • BEAST RAWDISK NFTs: $64.32 each
  • Player Icons: $6.21 each
  • Lucky Ticket NFTs (secondary): ranges from $0.027 to $273.42
  • Parameter Redrawing: $0.0021 per GEM
  • Gene Shuffling: $0.0049 per GEM
  • TGT Staking: $0.00624 to $0.00718 depending on how long tokens were held

TGT unstaking fees will also be refunded based on user tier on July 22. Any Lucky Ticket NFTs bought from the official shop will get full refunds. Unused in-game GEMs are also fully covered.

Future of TGT and Tokyo Games Foundation

Even though Tokyo Beast is closing, the TGT token and the Tokyo Games Foundation are staying active. The team confirmed that other titles using TGT are in the works, including what appears to be a second main release. But no details or launch dates have been shared.

A Short but Bold Experiment

Tokyo Beast made a strong entrance with a big prize pool, smooth gameplay, and a futuristic setting. It stood out by allowing free entry without a crypto wallet and offering real money rewards. But the high cost of giveaways, weak token spending, and poor returns made it unsustainable.

Still, the game's refund system sets a better example than most failed web3 projects. Players can apply for refunds starting August 25, with the deadline set for September 30. The team also reminded players not to delete the app until refunds are completed.

Further updates and the final AMA session will be posted in the coming days.