Splinterlands Downsizing Again – Play to Earn

Splinterlands announces another downsizing, as well as a reorganization of their projects, assigning them to specific corporate entities. This downsizing also leads to a shift in the organizational structure, as well as a stronger focus on long term goals.

Not ten months from their previous downsizing, Splinterlands is forced to do it again. Declining player numbers, a lackluster crypto market, and seemingly very little buy pressure for either of their tokens, Splinterlands had to make some changes.

We’re told that they were “forced to significantly downsize the Splinterlands organization”, but we haven’t received any details on exactly where that downsizing will hit. Obviously, the main concern is that this change will slow development on one or all of the Splinterlands projects, though Yabapmatt promises that the core team for Splinterlands will remain intact. He held a Town Hall discussing this announcement recently.

Splinterlands Reorganization

We do know that this time the downsizing comes with a re-organization. Which is probably a wise decision in the long-term. The side projects that Splinterlands has been building, including Genesis League Sports but NOT Soulkeep (their tower defense game) will be split in a subsidiary company known as Ivennium Corp. Aggroed will be moving over to head that division. Meanwhile Yabapmatt, will take over as head of Splinterlands.

The Splinterlands game and the associated Soulkeep tower defense game (currently in development) will be part of the Splinterlands division. Both Splinterlands and Ivennium Corp will fall under the parent umbrella of Steem Monster Corp.

With this comes a shift in priorities as well. Splinterlands plans to focus on long-term sustainability rather than short-term revenue generation. They list five priorities — the Secret of Praetoria Expansion (land gameplay), the Rebellion card set, attracting and retaining new players, Soulkeep, and getting SPS Validators up and running.

Rebellion

Along with this announcement comes a proposal from the Splinterlands team. They suggest that the Splinterlands DAO be the ones selling the packs for Rebellion (the next card expansion), hiring Steem Monsters Corp to be in charge of development and distribution!

SPS stakers should soon be able to vote on an official proposal for this change. In the proposal, the DAO will pay Steem Monsters Corp 250k USD to fund development of the expansion. It will also stipulate that all proceeds from the pack sales are split between the DAO and the Steem Monsters team.

This is an interesting proposal and could lead to a significant shift in the power of the player-run DAO side of Splinterlands!

What is Splinterlands?

Splinterlands is a browser-based, play-to-earn, trading card game running on the Hive blockchain. Splinterlands features two tokens. Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), the primary game currency, and Splintershards (SPS), a governance token.

Splinterlands is a cross between a deck-building game and an auto-battler. Players use their cards to build a combat lineup based on the rules of the match. Then, once both sides submit their teams, the cards run in auto-battle mode until only one team remains. Players earn rewards for winning matches, and can also earn additional rewards through Daily Quests, Seasonal rewards, and a recurring, two-week leaderboard contest.

To learn more about Splinterlands, read our game guide. You can also visit their website, follow them on Twitter, and join their Discord server.