By James Davis
This week, Web3 gaming startup ATMTA has proved that crypto gaming isn’t shielded from the downturns in the wider crypto and tech industries after laying off a section of its workforce.
The founder and CEO of the company Michael Wagner took to Twitter to explain that the decision was necessary to enable ATMTA to realize its long-term objectives. He revealed that 121 employees were affected. The current headcount now stands at 45. Wagner also said some of the employees sent home were developers of his company’s highly-anticipated NFT game called Star Atlas.
The CEO acknowledged that the reduction of developers could slow down the development of the game. He, however, said it was necessary to let some team members go as it had become difficult for ATMTA to pay their salaries due to declining monthly revenue.
Meanwhile, Wagner says ATMTA’s development team will now focus on games that are almost complete so that the company can launch them as quickly as possible to boost its revenue in order to support the development of Star Atlas. He insists his firm will not abandon the project despite laying off some developers.
ATMTA Financial Struggles
ATMTA started experiencing financial problems in November 2022, when it lost $16 million following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. At the time, Wagner said the company lost 50% of its total funds.
And due to financial issues, ATMTA could not wait for refunds from FTX. Therefore, it sold its claim to an undisclosed investment company. But according to Wagner, the funds received from the sale were 60% less than the amount stuck in FTX.
Despite the tough times, Wagner is confident the ATMTA team will bring the Star Atlas vision to life. He explains how he launched his company without a dollar in February 2021 but managed to raise millions of dollars because investors believed in his vision.
Which Blockchain Will Star Atlas Run on?
ATMTA is building the Star Atlas on Solana, a blockchain that has seen some popular NFT projects depart from the protocol in recent months. For instance, DeGods and y00ts collections have moved to Ethereum and Polygon, respectively. Nonetheless, Wagner believes that only Solana can materialize the Star Atlas vision.