The Imminent Shutdown of the Ethereum NFT Game based on 'The Walking Dead'
Heads up, Deadheads! The Walking Dead: Empires, the blockchain-based role-playing game, is about to bite the dust. Gala Games, its publisher, announced that the game will be shut down on July 31, 2025.
Originally announced back in late 2021, Empires was built around Ethereum NFTs and had been in open beta for the past year. Players could craft weapons, build bases, and fight for survival, all while warding off the "walkers" or, as you might know them, zombies. To boost the experience, users could buy NFTs for supplies, weapons, or even land to build a base.
Now, here's the kicker: unlike other in-game items that eventually vanish after heavy use, the NFT-based items in Empires were indestructible. In fact, back in 2021, some players forked out a whopping $67,000 for a legendary land deed claim. Even in 2023, during the game's playtest phase, owners were still asking top dollars for these NFTs. For instance, an NFT-based handgun fetched $30,000, while lower-level items were going for at least $1,000.
However, with the game's final play date closing in, those precious NFTs are now essentially worthless. As compensation, Gala plans to distribute other NFTs from its gaming ecosystem to users, aiming to provide those with "equal functionality" to their existing Empires NFT holdings.
"While the game's journey is coming to an end, we remain committed to ensuring that these NFTs continue to have utility," their post reads. That's the good news. The not-so-great news? The compensation comes in the form of mystery boxes. Some users took to social media to vent their displeasure, claiming "people paid upwards of $10K+ for lands & are now getting $2 mystery boxes."
Gala Games didn't respond to Decrypt's request for comment. But as part of the sunset process, holders of Empires NFTs, as of an April 29 snapshot, will receive mystery boxes containing items depending on the type and rarity of their Walking Dead NFTs.
As for the popular comic book and TV series itself, the IP was also featured in NFTs on the Eluvio blockchain and in collaboration with Ethereum metaverse game, The Sandbox. The post-apocalyptic zombie show ran for 177 episodes across 11 seasons, with multiple spinoff shows.
- Despite the impending shutdown of The Walking Dead: Empires on July 31, 2025, Gala Games assures that the NFT-based items in the game will continue to have utility.
- In 2021, some players spent as much as $67,000 on a legendary land deed claim in The Walking Dead: Empires, a testament to the game's popularity.
- In 2023, during the playtest phase, NFT-based handguns fetched $30,000, while lower-level items were going for at least $1,000.
- With the game closing, those precious NFTs are now essentially worthless, leading some users to express disappointment on social media.
- As compensation, Gala Games plans to distribute mystery boxes containing items based on the type and rarity of the players' Walking Dead NFTs.
- The popular comic book and TV series, The Walking Dead, has also been featured in NFTs on the Eluvio blockchain and in collaboration with Ethereum metaverse game, The Sandbox.
- In technology and pop-culture circles, blockchain-based games like The Walking Dead: Empires, and crypto gadgets, are increasingly becoming part of data-and-cloud-computing and social-media discourse.
- Books and entertainment enthusiasts are keeping a keen eye on these developments, looking forward to exploring more about the intersection of technology and their favorite stories in the metaverse.
