The gaming NFT marketplace Aqua no longer exists, CEO Sean Ryan announced LinkedIn Friday. The plan was first shared last month but is now official.
“We've done some things well and some things not so well at Aqua, but the Web3 gaming market is not bringing it to market size in a meaningful timeframe,” Ryan wrote. “So it was time to call it a day and move on to other opportunities, especially for our amazing staff.”
“I still believe in the idea of players owning their game assets, but it's going to take a little longer. [than] We were all hopeful,” the CEO added.
Ryan, who previously worked as a VP at Facebook Aqua was launched in 2022 And has partnered with blockchain companies like Immutable and Polygon Labs. Now, less than two years later, the “gamer-centric” NFT gaming startup has closed its doors.
In a graphic accompanying the article, Ryan shared that the startup has struggled to raise funds amid “slower-than-expected growth” in the broader crypto gaming market.
“I'm a firm believer in category, but sometimes one is too early,” Ryan told Decrypt GG when reached on Friday.
Aqua aims to provide gaming NFT marketplace and additional white-glove, embedded marketplace solutions to game developers. The marketplace also supports the balancing of NFTs on Ethereum as well as the Polygon and ImmovableX networks.
Ryan said earlier this year Decrypt In an interview, Aqua is designed for real players – not “degen” crypto traders looking to make money by flipping gaming NFTs for profit.
And through discussions with over 50 different blockchain game developers, Ryan realized that devs are in desperate need of a seamless game marketplace that doesn't drag players to third-party websites.
Recently it was said again in the sequence of Aqua competitors, that's all He launched his own tool for devs. To make their own in-game marketplaces.
For better or worse, there is a lot of competition in the gaming NFT marketplace right now. Game key retailer G2A Recently jumping into NFT sales, OpenSea has revamped its gaming offerings and content (but Dismissed workers), and Magic Eden it has Emphasized game as a major focus in the future.
But Aqua isn't the only gaming NFT platform that has pulled back this year. In August, Stop the game He announced that he was killing the NFT wallet, “control instability”.
Edited by Andrew Hayward.
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