‘Aussie Crypto Star’ Immutable, creator of NFT card games, lays off over 20 employees

Crypto gaming startup Immutable, dubbed an “Aussie crypto star” and valued at $US3.5 billion ($2.4 billion USD), laid off at least 20 employees on Tuesday morning, including core members of its NFT trading card game, Gods Unchained.

The layoffs, which affected about 6% of the company’s workforce, were announced Monday morning during an all-hands meeting hosted by Justin Hulog, who was named head of studio at Immutable in March, and James Ferguson, Immutable CEO and co-founder, sources told CNET. Staff on leave were asked to attend with just 24 hours notice.

During the meeting, which was conducted via Google Meet and lasted about 30 minutes, staff were informed of impending layoffs, but assured by Ferguson that Immutable is in “a fantastic position.” Each member of the team then had a 15-minute meeting with a Human Resources representative and their manager, where they were told if they would lose their jobs.

Staff were then told they could apply for other roles at the company, but according to CNET’s sources, the available roles were not suitable for those who may lose their jobs. Employees who did not want to apply for other jobs in the company were told on Tuesday morning that they would be let go.

The layoffs at Immutable come as several crypto companies retreat from the industry’s dizzying heights in 2021. Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, laid off 18% of its workforce in June, while 20% of employees at OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, were let go earlier this month.

The bulk of the layoffs involved employees working on the development of Gods Unchained, sources told CNET, adding that the project was “shut down.” Remaining members on the project are junior staff or C suite members. Currently, Immutable is only hiring for two positions on Gods Unchained, according to its website.

“I can confirm that Game Workers Australia is aware of the significant redundancies announced at Immutable [on Tuesday],” said Tim Colwill, senior official of the Game Workers Australia union. “We have already started providing assistance to our affected members.”

An Immutable spokesperson said the company “made a difficult choice” in undertaking “a small reorganization in Gods Unchained to help us better achieve our goal of making the next generation of web3 games”, but did not address specific questions regarding the number employees who were dismissed, nor which teams were affected by the dismissals.

The round of layoffs comes just a month after Robbie Ferguson, stalwart president and co-founder, told financial publication Blockworks “now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal.”

At the same time, Gods Unchained’s player base has shrunk. In early April, nearly 22,000 unique players logged into the free game, but that number is now around 10,000, according to Cards Unchained, a privately run website that tracks the game.

Crypto markets have been battered in 2022. In what has been dubbed “crypto winter,” the price of bitcoin and ether have fallen 55% and 61%, respectively, since January 1. Meanwhile, Immutable’s cryptocurrency token, IMX, which is used to trade assets in Gods Unchained, has also taken a dramatic hit, with its value falling from around $11 in November 2021 to just over $1.

Despite the fall, James Ferguson told the Australian Financial Review in May that the value of the token has little bearing on Immutable’s business proposition, with most of the value coming from the NFT trading platform Immutable X. The marketplace is used by companies such as GameStop and Illuvium.

Despite the layoffs, the company appears to be growing dramatically. Immutable’s spokesperson said the company has grown from 120 full-time employees at the start of the year to a current headcount of 280, with plans to reach 360 by the end of the year.