Pixelmon ends game development after failed publisher test

Pixelmon has ended game development and cut its gaming team after a roughly three-week publisher test failed to produce a long-term commercial offer.

The NFT project said in an official Discord announcement that outside publishers used their own marketing budgets and tools to test player acquisition and retention. 

The publishers did not reject the games outright, but the results were not strong enough to support an extended deal.

Pixelmon said it has given notice to every member of its gaming team. The games will be taken offline and their supporting systems dismantled. Employees will receive severance and other benefits required in their jurisdictions, then serve their notice periods on garden leave.

The project said refunds for token and NFT holders are not an option because Pixelmon has equity shareholders, including funds and financial investors that provided capital tied to the project’s intellectual property. Remaining funds will instead support an effort to find a non-gaming business model.

A smaller group of senior and multidisciplinary employees will remain to explore that pivot. Pixelmon plans to discuss possible AI tools and its future relationship with the community at a Thursday town hall.

The decision ends a gaming push that followed Pixelmon’s 2022 NFT launch, when the project raised more than $70 million by selling 10,000 NFTs. The project later changed leadership and continued work on multiple titles, but the latest publisher test was treated as the final attempt to secure a commercial path for the games.