Web3 MMO Ember Sword has shut down on short notice, with the development team citing an inability to “secure the funding needed to keep building.”
Announced via a statement in the Ember Sword Discord, this follows news in December 2024 of increasing financial challenges – and unfortunately, after exploring “every possible way forward”, the developers have found it “impossible” to continue.
The game is now unavailable to play with all servers offline, and their website now hosts a static page that repeats the closure announcement. No word has been provided on the future of Ember Sword‘s NFTs or its $EMBER token, and no further details have been shared via the game’s other social media channels.
Key Insights
- Ember Sword has shut down, with the game now unavailable to play
- Servers were taken offline on May 20, following a Discord announcement
- This follows a December 2024 announcement outlining financial difficulties
- The game becomes the latest in a growing list of Web3 projects to close in 2025
- No details have been shared on the future of its NFTs or $EMBER token
What was Ember Sword?
Ember Sword was a free-to-play MMORPG, built on Ethereum Layer-2 Mantle, and available on PC.
Developed by Bright Star Studios, the game is described by the team as a “social sandbox MMO”. Players dive into the world of Thanabus, exploring vibrant regions and embarking on quests with fast-paced action combat against wild creators and other players at its core.
The game entered early access in December 2024, which saw the debut of on-chain NFT and token rewards – including $EMBER, the official ecosystem token of Ember Sword. Land NFTs offered players a way to build experiences and earn passive $EMBER, whilst new PVP and PVE quests gave players fresh challenges on a regular basis.
What will happen to $EMBER and Ember Sword’s NFTs?
Bright Star Studios have kept tight-lipped on the fate of Ember Sword’s NFTs and $EMBER token.
Right now, it appears that there is no plan for a winding-down of these assets, a transfer of utility, or any other official support which could see these assets hold or retain their value. It remains to be seen if the $EMBER token, Land NFTs and other assets will see some kind of ongoing support from the Bright Star team.
In their statement, the development team remarked that they are “[joining] the growing list of web3 gaming projects unable to continue” due to the “current Web3 and gaming market”. The past week has seen blockchain games such as Nyan Heroes, Tatsumeeko and Blast Royale close their doors, with rumours that others are set to join them across the remainder of 2025.
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