Key Highlights:
- Nyan Heroes halts development due to lack of additional funding.
- The game, featuring cats in robotic suits, attracted over 1 million players during testing phases.
- The Solana-based NYAN token has plummeted nearly 99% from its all-time high.
The End of Nyan Heroes
Nyan Heroes, a Solana-based shooter game in the style of Overwatch, has officially ceased development, according to a Friday announcement from studio 9 Lives Interactive. The reason: an inability to secure the necessary funding to complete the project.
The game was free-to-play with a play-to-earn mechanic and had just completed its fourth public test on the Epic Games Store, which included the largest NYAN token airdrop to date. A full release was planned for winter 2025.
Strong Results, No Finish Line
The project began with a pre-alpha test in March 2024 and managed to attract over 1 million players across its four test phases. Over 250,000 players added the game to their wishlists on both Epic Games and Steam.
Despite these milestones and ongoing talks for publishing, investments, grants, and acquisition — we ultimately couldn’t secure the capital needed to take the game to the finish line,
the official Nyan Heroes X (formerly Twitter) post stated.
This is not the outcome we hoped for. The industry is in a tough place right now, and sadly, Nyan Heroes is shutting down.
Still a Glimmer of Hope?
9 Lives Interactive CEO and Creative Director Max Fu expressed cautious optimism that Nyan Heroes might be revived in the future — though not anytime soon.
The last few months have been difficult,
he said.
We’re currently exploring opportunities for acquisition of the studio and/or the IP. Conversations are ongoing, but I think it’ll take some time before there’s clarity.
NYAN Token and NFT Elements
The game’s blockchain features were optional, but included:
- A Solana-based NYAN token
- NFT cats originally launched in 2021, before the game was accessible
Unsurprisingly, following the shutdown announcement, the NYAN token dropped 40% in a single day, bringing its market cap below $1 million.
- Current price: $0.006
- Down from ATH ($0.45 in May 2024): -98.5%
Part of a Larger Web3 Gaming Struggle
The Nyan Heroes case fits a growing pattern of Web3 games failing to survive.
Examples:
- In February, Ethereum-based game Mystery Society shut down for the same reason — lack of funding
- In early May, Gala Games announced it will end support for The Walking Dead: Empires in July
Another game down,
commented anonymous Treeverse founder and investor Loopify on X.
I invested in Nyan Heroes. Their stats were great, albeit incentivized. In the end, the only thing that matters is real revenue — and that only comes when there’s product-market fit.
Gaming Tokens Also Under Pressure
Gaming tokens have also faced major challenges. As of April, they had completely fallen out of CoinGecko’s top 100 tokens by market cap.
At the time of writing, only IMX (Immutable) remains in the top 100 among gaming-focused tokens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions below.
Nyan Heroes was discontinued due to the inability to secure additional funding despite strong community engagement and test participation.
Following the announcement, the NYAN token dropped over 40% in a single day and is now down nearly 99% from its all-time high.
Yes, the studio is exploring acquisition opportunities for the game and its intellectual property, though no concrete plans have been confirmed.
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or investment advice. Crypto-assets are highly volatile, so only invest funds that you are willing to lose and use your own research and risk management.
