At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a video game called Axie Infinity promised players not just entertainment but also a way to earn money.
Built on blockchain technology, the game allowed users to collect and battle digital creatures known as “axies.”
Unlike traditional games, players received tokens linked to the cryptocurrency Ethereum, which they could cash out for real money.
The idea spread quickly, especially in countries like the Philippines, where more than 30,000 players joined and, for some, it became their main source of income.
The game’s popularity surged alongside the booming crypto market, with the cost of an entry-level axie rising from just $5 to nearly $1,000.
Existing players even launched “scholarship programs,” lending their axies to new users in exchange for a cut of the profits.
At its peak, Axie Infinity became the face of the “play-to-earn” movement and one of the most popular NFT-based games in the world.
But in 2022, cracks began to show. A devastating hack, carried out by a group linked to North Korea, stole an astonishing $620 million worth of cryptocurrency from the game.
At the same time, the global crypto market collapsed, and suddenly the tokens that players earned became nearly worthless. The excitement drained away, and users openly admitted they had never found the game fun—they had only been playing for the money. Millions left, and the game’s user base fell by about 90%.
A new study by Cornell researchers Jordan Ali and Gili Vidan examined why some players stayed when so many left.
Analyzing online posts from Axie Infinity communities, they found that many users weren’t naive victims but people who understood the risks. Rather than quitting, these players tried to manage their investments, strategizing ways to protect their earnings in hopes the tokens might recover value.
The researchers argue that this story is bigger than just one game. The creators of Axie Infinity, a company called Sky Mavis, saw the project as part of a much larger vision: Web3, the idea of a decentralized internet where users control their own assets rather than relying on tech giants. In its white paper, Sky Mavis even declared the game could “onboard the world to Web3.”
Though its popularity has faded, Axie Infinity still has around 400,000 regular users, and its influence remains strong. Other Web3 projects continue to copy its design and borrow from its vision. The game’s story, researchers suggest, shows both the risks and the resilience of the Web3 dream.
“Despite all the ways the game falls short, the appeal of decentralization is still powerful,” said Vidan. “It suggests that the vision of Web3 isn’t going away anytime soon.”
