Yield Guild Games (YGG) has announced the closure of its publishing division, YGG Play. As part of the restructuring, the company laid off 35 employees. Co-founder of the project, Gabby Dizon, explained that the division lost its commercial viability amid the prolonged bearish trend in the crypto market and the overall crisis in the GameFi sector.
The decision to liquidate YGG Play was the result of a systematic analysis of market conditions. The blockchain gaming sector, which experienced explosive growth in 2021–2022, has faced a sharp decline in user activity and capital inflow. Many projects, including YGG, came under pressure from declining revenues from in-game transactions and tokenomics that failed to withstand the test of time.
New Strategy: Data for AI
Instead of continuing publishing activities, YGG is refocusing on creating behavioral datasets for training artificial intelligence. The company stated that its community will be able to generate such data "just by playing." This is a step toward monetizing accumulated experience and infrastructure, rather than directly financing gaming projects.
From my perspective, this move reflects a broader trend: crypto companies that survived the boom are seeking new niches to survive. Data for AI is a growing market, but the question is whether YGG can compete with giants like Scale AI or specialized Web3 startups. For now, this is more of a forced diversification than a breakthrough.