By Michael Scott
Neopets Meta is terminating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) games despite the fundraiser supported by major crypto firms. The firm’s chief executive Dominic Law confirmed that Neopet is swapping NFTs-based games to create and publish games that better reflect its values and vision.
The move to suddenly cancel the NFT game is surprising given that Law had advocated for play-and-earn Web3-based gaming in May this year. He informed Forbes during a May interview that the Neopets franchise had all the requisite ingredients to guarantee NFT game success.
Neopets Metervese Terminated as Despite Fundraising for Existing Projects
Neopets Metaverse emerged as a free-to-play title derived from the virtual pet simulator web-based game unveiled in 1999. The title had realized the alpha phase of development with the team acknowledging sales exceeding 9000 Solana NFTs across multiple collections. The sudden cancellation is surprising given the millions raised from major backers, including Avalanche ecosystem fund and Polygon Ventures.
The communication published on Monday, July 17, by the Neopets Team (TNT) announced the Neopets Metaverse shutdown and its imminent shift to developing the non-crypto mobile game identified as World of Neopets.
The blog post explained that TNT had examined every detail of Neopets and decided to transition from the Neopets Metaverse game. The company’s TNT team recommended redistributing resources towards developing the game that could better reflect Neopets’ values and vision.
TNT team regretted the decision that it portrayed as a difficult decision though pursued as the company’s right reason. TNT added that the team desires to design games that align to fulfill the requirements demanded by the gaming community.
Leadership Change and Reorganization of Neopets
The Monday post disclosed that Neopets was steered by a new leadership team at first, suggesting the likely exit of Law. A revisit of the Hong Kong-based proWeb3 advocate shows Law staying at the gaming company.
Reviewing Law’s LinkedIn profile indicates a shift from the chief metaverse officer role to the chief executive position. Nonetheless, the reasons that informed Law’s decision to shift Neopets and eliminate NFTs remain uncertain.
The post discloses that Neopets successfully secured the management buyout. The shift indicates that Neopets is regaining autonomy that has become elusive for 18 years. A revisit of the Neopet journey reveals its acquisition in 2005 by Viacom before selling it to Jumpstart. The latter would become the acquisition target by the Japanese gaming giant NetDragon. The enterprise operated till Jumpstart’s closure in June 2023.
The post lauds the recent development as it frees Neopets from the corporate baggage. In particular, the company would operate under the stewardship of the United TNT team. The team will undertake decision-making and branding strategy for Neopets.
Shaking off the corporate baggage will enable the newly united TNT to steer the company under its new identity – World of Neopia Inc. The post captured TNT’s assurance of issuing monthly updates and the revival of the brand ambassador program. TNT reiterated plans to unveil a new homepage by July 20. Also, the team will leverage an emulator to update the Flash games into a playable version.
Neopets Suffers Criticism of Orchestrating Rugpull in the NFT Game
The cancellation of the NFT game by Neopets triggered criticism from Twitter users who accused the company of propagating the rug pull game. Twitter users indicated that the cancellation affirmed the usual scam where creators often sell NFTs by promising their future utility. On the contrary, they abandon such projects without honoring the promises and refunding buyers.
Neopets assured a distressed Twitter user of the continued support for the Web3 community. The tweet echoed the sentiments conveyed via the Monday blog post. It confirmed that it would sustain operating the Discord server specifically for the NFT holders.
Although TNT disclosed repurposing the assets labeled as usable from the canceled game, it overlooked addressing the refunds. Consequently, it is uncertain if NFT owners can claim refunds or reap benefits from the new non-crypto game.
An unnamed Neopets representative disclosed that it plans to offer NFT owners perks comprising digital items and digital in-game currency. The representative thanked the community for supporting the company and sustaining the digital collectible lines.
The spokesperson assured that TNT appreciates the input by announcing additional details on the perks. Among the items for consideration in the perks are NC items, NC merchandise, and access to IRL events.
The representative failed to confirm if the community backlash prompted Neopets to ditch NFTs. Nevertheless, the executive admitted TNT would listen to the community’s voices given that its paramount to realize the brand’s success. Listening to the needs and desires of Neopets’ fans yields input needed to reverse engineer the products, increasing their acceptability in the market.