This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Sky Mavis Accuses Mobile Game of Secret Deal with Another Blockchain
Sky Mavis, the company behind the Ronin blockchain, has made allegations against a mobile fantasy game using its Ronin chain. The game, Ragnarok: Monster World (RMW), has been accused of secretly entering into a deal with another blockchain in violation of an existing agreement.
Violation of Preexisting Agreement
Ragnarok: Monster World utilizes both the Ronin and Cross protocols. However, Sky Mavis co-founder Aleksander Larsen has claimed that RMW struggled to keep up with competition after the Ronin blockchain transitioned to a permissionless model in February. This change meant that game developers no longer required approval from Sky Mavis to build on Ronin.
Larsen expressed disappointment in RMW’s actions, stating, “The team behind the game ignored our advice and has since lost favor with the community. To make matters worse, they secretly signed a deal with a separate blockchain, breaching our agreement.”
End of Professional Relationship
Due to the alleged breach of agreement, Sky Mavis announced the termination of its professional relationship with 0x&, the team behind Ragnarok: Monster World. Initially, Larsen indicated that RMW’s assets would be removed from Sky Mavis products like Ronin Market. However, a subsequent post clarified that while the assets would remain on the Ronin marketplace, they would lose their endorsement checkmark from Sky Mavis.
“This will be our last statement on this matter,” Larsen concluded.
Denial and Speculation
RMW has denied entering into any secret agreement and maintained that it fulfilled all contractual obligations with Sky Mavis. The game argued against the characterization of a “loss of trust” based on unilateral interpretations.
Speculation has arisen suggesting that RMW’s decision to engage with another blockchain may have been driven by financial considerations. In the blockchain space, grants are often provided by foundations, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), or leading labs to incentivize game developers to integrate their chains.
“We’re going to see this even more,” predicted Hantao Yuan, co-founder of Moku. “Them moving to another ecosystem for a grant just means they have survived for now.”
Blockworks has reached out to 0x& for comment on the matter.
As of Monday morning, RMW’s Genesis Land Launchpad and Presale are still prominently featured on the Ronin Market’s homepage, with its Landverse collection retaining a gold checkmark.