Four major Web3 game companies: Igloo closes Abstract on December 15, Animoca's path to Nasdaq is b

Web3 Games 2026: These four companies still decide which projects will be built

Web3 games are games that store items, currency or land plots as tokens on the blockchain, allowing players to trade outside of the game. Since the boom in 2021, the field has shrunk significantly. Only a few companies remain that simultaneously operate brands, proprietary blockchains and tokens.

This triple role is costly. Brands need marketing, blockchain needs operators and developers, and tokens need liquidity. In 2026, these four companies scaled back in at least one of the three areas mentioned above: Igloo exited the blockchain business, Yuga Labs scaled back its brand, Animoca shelved its listing plans, and Sky Mavis changed its reward model.

Igloo will shut down the Abstract Layer 2 network on December 15, 2026

Igloo Inc., the company behind Puggy Penguins, is shutting down its self-built blockchain. Abstract Network will cease service on December 15, 2026. CEO Luca Netz announced the move on October 6, 2026, and the company confirmed it the next day. According to the team, once the network is shut down, the balance remaining on the network will no longer be accessible.

Abstract is the only item in the entire text with a clear deadline and has a strict deadline. If you hold a token, NFT or stablecoin on Abstract, you have two months to bridge it to Ethereum or other chain. For information on which wallet supports this operation and the difference in hosting types, please refer to our software wallet comparison analysis.

What is Layer 2 and why Abstract has its own Layer 2

Layer 2 (Layer 2 network) is a network that packages transactions from the main network and settles in batches on Ethereum, reducing fees and waiting times. Abstract is one such Layer 2 for consumer rather than financial applications: registration without a traditional wallet, support for micropayments, and is suitable for games and collectibles.

Media reports vary in user sizes. The data cited is roughly 400,000 users, and the total transaction volume on the chain is between 300 million and 325 million times. Both numbers come from reports of closures rather than audited financial statements, so we are giving a range.

No tokens, no ICO: Igloo funded Abstract at his own expense

What is worth noting in the announcement is that "nothing happened". Igloo has never issued tokens for Abstract, nor has it conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) to raise new funds. According to consistent reports from multiple media outlets, Netz said that the company quietly funded the chain out of its own pocket for 18 months, and lost tens of millions of dollars in funds in the process.

include high operating costs, insufficient liquidity, a lack of supply of financial applications and little interest from institutional investors. For holders, the conclusion is crucial: Having your own chain is not a sign of quality, but a cost basis that must be borne by someone indefinitely.

当Layer 2被关闭时，代币本身不会消失，但对它们的访问权会消失：截至2026年12月15日仍留在Abstract上的任何东西都将留在那里。

Pudgy Party结束后，Pudgy World浏览器游戏成为唯一留存

Abstract并非Igloo今年停用的第一个项目。2026年6月12日，该公司宣布停止开发由Mythical Games共同开发的手机游戏《Pudgy Party》。据报道，该游戏于2025年8月推出，下载量超过百万次。

市场反应直白。多家媒体报道称，公告既未提及退款，也未说明如何将购买的项目转移到剩余游戏中。记录在案的是批评而非违法：买家是否拥有索赔权以及何种权利，取决于个案及所在国的合同法。

目前剩下的是《Pudgy World》，这是Igloo自2026年春季开始运行的免费浏览器游戏，公司目前正集中资源于此。此外，还有与区块链关系不大的毛绒玩具和收藏品业务，自2023年9月与沃尔玛达成合作后在美国门店销售。

生态系统代币名为PENGU，在Abstract宣布关闭后下跌约7%；消息来源指出跌幅始于2026年10月7日或8日。持有者需注意：PENGU主要在Solana上运行，同时在以太坊和BNB Chain上也有支持，但不在Abstract上。因此，关闭Abstract对此并无影响。价格后续走势请参考我们的PENGU价格预测。

Animoca Brands: The merger with Currenc Group is on hold since September 22, 2026

Among the four companies, Animoca Brands is an exception: it is not a games company in the narrow sense, but an investment house that supports a large number of industry projects and also runs its own products, such as The Sandbox. The original plan for listing was major news in 2026, but it did happen, but it did not go as expected.

On September 22, 2026, Animoca and Nasdaq-listed Currenc Group announced that they would suspend merger discussions. The statement said that both sides believe that given the expected completion timetable and changes in the market environment, the expected transition period is not in line with their short-and medium-term strategic goals.

Animoca remains committed to its launch goal. In the same statement, the company said it was fully committed to listing on major public exchanges and pointed out its own timetable: the 2023 annual audit report will be released on July 17, 2026, and the 2024 annual report is under preparation. Co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu said the company's flexibility must come first and will continue to explore the best path to go public.

What is a reverse merger

In a reverse merger, an unlisted company merges with a listed shell company to achieve a listing without a traditional stock offering. The plan announced in November 2025 stipulates that Animoca shareholders will own approximately 95% of the combined company. In the mandatory filing, Currenc recorded that the previously extended exclusive negotiation period had ended, but no final agreement had been reached.

For European investors, this is mainly about clarifying the business model: As an investment company behind numerous projects, Animoca cannot map to any single token. Investing in Animoca requires purchasing shares in its shares, and its shares on major exchanges are currently not available.

Moca Chain: Animoca's new Layer 1 focuses on digital identities rather than games

A week after the merger collapsed, Animoca launched another business. On September 29, 2026, the Moca Foundation and Moca Network announced the launch of the Moca Chain main network. "Mainnet" means that the network is already running in a real environment, processing real value, and is no longer just a test environment.

Moca Chain is a Layer 1 stand-alone blockchain with its own security and is compatible with Ethereum's development tools. The purpose is digital identity: Companies can issue, verify, update and revoke certificates, and users decide which parts to disclose. MOCA tokens are used to pay for network fees and serve the pledge and verification processes.

What's striking is the missing part: the game. Animoca has shifted its focus from play to identity, credentials and AI proxy applications. The report mentioned partners such as SK Planet, Lamborghini, OneFootball and Nansen; but a trade services agency pointed out that the statement did not distinguish between which of these connections were already in production and which were just pilots or plans. In terms of ecological lists, this distinction is the most critical issue.

The road to Nasdaq through Circulc Group is suspended from September 22, 2026;Animoca said it remains committed to its listing goal.

Yuga Labs: New CEO, brand handover, Everything on Otherside and ApeChain led by others

Yuga Labs has the most famous brand in the field, but also shows the clearest contraction trend. In April 2026, Michael Figge, long-time product leader, took over leadership; co-founder Greg Solano, who has served as CEO since February 2024, moved to the top of the board and said he would return to creative work.

Prior to this, the company abandoned two of its most famous acquisitions. The rights of CryptoPunks were transferred to the Infinite Node Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting digital art, and the trademark rights of Moonbirds were also transferred. Since then, Yuga has focused on the ape series and Otherside.

Otherside is part of the metaverse and will be available in the browser from November 12, 2025 and can be accessed through an email address or wallet. An economic system containing 74 resources has been announced, but a specific date has not been set. Yuga also does not publish player numbers, making progress difficult to assess. Technically, this is all running on ApeChain, the relevant currency is ApeCoin, and see our APE price forecast for its development.

The governance structure changed accordingly: ApeCoin DAO, the voting community for token holders, was dissolved in 2025 and replaced by a company controlled by Yuga. Those who once regarded APE as a say in decision-making have since held something else.

The 2026 Apefest will be held on October 17: A Night at the Charleston Studio

The extent to which the industry has shrunk can be seen from its annual gathering. The 2026 Apefest was held on October 17 at Beeple Studios in Charleston, South Carolina and lasted only one night. As to why few members of the German Ape community go, we have explained in detail in the related article on Apefest 2026.

Sky Mavis: bAXS replaces AXS as a reward, Atia's Legacy is stuck in a third try

Sky Mavis, the studio behind Axie Infinity and the Ronin blockchain, recreated its reward model in 2026. Starting in January 2026, a new "application token" called bAXS has replaced the previous AXS payouts; in February, tokens worth approximately $135,000 were airdropped to bAXS holders. Airdrops are the free distribution of tokens to specific groups.

In June 2026, Terrariums V1, a revenue system for Axie landowners, was launched. In July, Sky Mavis opened the third trial of the announced role-playing game "Atia's Legacy" in the Axie Universe, this time focusing on real-time combat. Although the game promised to be released in 2026 when it was announced in March 2025, a release date has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, the studio is handing over responsibility: further development of the original game "Axie Classic" will be handed over to the player community in August 2026. On the blockchain front, Ronin regularly distributes thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to developer studios through a program called "Proof of Distribution." Please refer to our AXS price forecast for the performance of major tokens.

Active wallets are not equal to players: What does the DAUW indicator measure?

The number of unique active wallets per day (DAUW) frequently appears in press releases in the industry. It counts the number of addresses that triggered at least one transaction with the application on a given day. But it does not count people.

A person can run ten wallets, and many games reward exactly this behavior. Conversely, a player who spends an hour in the game may trigger only one transaction, while a script can be generated hundreds of times. Therefore, a high wallet count proves activity on the chain, but not audience size or revenue. Abstract is the clearest example of the past year: The chain reported hundreds of millions of transactions and a six-figure number of users, but was nonetheless cancelled due to a lack of liquidity and revenue. When a project shows you the number of wallets, a more useful question is: How much revenue is behind it? Who pays for operating costs?

Comparison of tokens in the three major ecosystems: All are below the historical high of 99%, but still on the upward trend

We compared three tradable tokens from these four companies side by side: Puggy Penguins 'PENGU, Yuga Labs' APE and Sky Mavis 'AXS. Animoca does not have such major tokens, so there are only three. The basic data comes from public price data (denominated in euros) from market data service provider CoinGecko. As of October 11, 2026, there are three verified values. This analysis was compiled by cryptoticker.io on October 11, 2026.

• PENGU：约0.0072欧元，市值约4.55亿欧元。30天内上涨9.9%，一年内下跌66.9%，较2024年12月17日的峰值低88.9%。
• AXS：约1.09欧元，市值约1.9亿欧元。30天内上涨35.3%，一年内下跌24.9%，较2021年11月6日的峰值低99.2%。
• APE：约0.135欧元，市值约1.35亿欧元。30天内上涨15.3%，一年内下跌59.5%，较2022年4月28日的峰值低99.5%。

两点引人注目。首先，这三个代币均远低于其峰值，其中两个几乎没有任何当时的估值残留。其次，这三个代币在30天内均有所上涨，AXS涨幅尤为明显。一旦将这些代币视为当前状态下的“小型、流动性市场”，这两点便吻合了：其当日方向更多受整体市场状况影响，而非涉事公司的进展。

市值也揭示了风险。三者市值均在数亿美元级别。在这个规模下，相对较小的买卖订单就会引起价格的显著波动，且买卖价差比大型股更宽。

MiCA法规与托管：这些代币在欧洲何处可交易

With the entry into force of the EU MiCA regulation, German crypto services can only be provided by licensed companies. Actually: Whether you can buy PENGU, APE or AXS does not depend on the project itself, but on whether the trading pair is listed on your trading platform and licensed in Germany. Smaller ecosystem tokens are less likely to appear in the scope of regulated providers than large international exchanges. Please refer to our comparison of cryptocurrency exchanges for which platforms in Germany are licensed and the tokens they support.

Regarding hosting, Abstract deadlines add complexity. If you hold NFT or tokens on a chain that is about to close, even having the best wallet in the world will not help, as long as the value remains there. Please check your wallet to confirm the network where the position is actually held. The network name is usually indicated next to the balance on the application interface.

There are no special rules for tax treatment for these tokens: in Germany, sales proceeds within one year are private disposal transactions, and holding rules apply after one year of holding. Moving from one chain to another through a bridge may be considered a redemption, depending on the structure. If you transfer a large position, please record the date and value of the transaction, and seek tax advice if you have doubts.

Web3 Games: December 15 is the only hard deadline

In all four cases, there is only one date that requires you to take action. The rest is background information.

Move out of Abstract positions before December 15, 2026

Open your wallet, check the network for each position held, and bridge all assets located on Abstract to Ethereum or other chain. Please refer to Software Wallet Comparison for which wallet can clearly display this information.

Check trading platforms before buying

Small ecosystem tokens are not listed everywhere, and in illiquid markets, bid-ask spreads can erode part of the principal. Exchange comparisons show who is licensed in Germany.

For NFT, the trading market should also be considered

The tradability of collectibles depends on the trading market in which they are located, and the trading market will also be closed. Please refer to Market Comparison for which markets will remain open in 2026.

(As of October 11, 2026. This article does not constitute investment advice. Price and fee structures may change; please check terms with your provider before purchasing.)