{"id":11552,"date":"2026-08-06T08:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T08:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552"},"modified":"2026-08-06T08:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T08:46:13","slug":"a16z-backed-proof-of-play-shuts-down-open-sources-pirate-nation-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552","title":{"rendered":"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • Proof of Play said on 4 August it is winding down, three years after raising US$33 million in a seed round co-led by a16z and Greenoaks.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The studio published the Pirate Nation Unity client on GitHub on 17 June and the game\u2019s artwork on 31 July under a CC0 licence, both weeks before the announcement.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • PIRATE traded at US$0.0012 on Thursday, 99.74% below its July 2024 high, with the independent Pirate Nation Foundation continuing to support it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Blockchain gaming studio Proof of Play said on 4 August it is winding down, three years after raising US$33 million (AU$46.86 million) from investors led by a16z and Greenoaks, and will open-source most of its technology along with its Pirate Nation assets.<\/p>\n

    Chief executive Amitt Mahajan, who co-created FarmVille, co-founded the studio behind Pirate Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The company said it could not build a product or a sustainable business that proved its central thesis: that blockchain games could help create a decentralised internet. The seed round closed in September 2023.<\/p>\n

    Read more: FBI Agent Accused of Stealing $1 Million in Crypto from Seized Wallets<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Proof of Play published the Pirate Nation Unity client on GitHub on 17 June, seven weeks before it announced the wind-down, describing it as an open-source archival release. Company-authored code carries an MIT licence, and the release was published with a single-commit history and every secret removed and rotated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    A repository of the game\u2019s artwork followed on 31 July under a CC0 licence, which waives copyright entirely, and was last updated on 3 August, the day before the announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The Founder Pirates artwork, the branding and the wider Pirate Nation intellectual property are covered by the same terms, and the smart contracts have been public since February 2024.<\/p>\n

    The client does not build without work: paid third-party assets were stripped out, and no live backend remains for it to connect to. \u201cThe game is no longer operated as a live service, and we are open-sourcing the client to give it back to the community,\u201d the company wrote.<\/p>\n

    What Happens to PIRATE<\/h2>\n

    Pirate Nation itself closed a year ago. Proof of Play said on 19 August 2025 that gameplay and token rewards would end within 30 days and that the game\u2019s Apex and Boss chains would sunset, because \u201cthe game has not attracted enough of an audience to justify continued investment and operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The independent Pirate Nation Foundation will keep supporting PIRATE, which launched in June 2024. The token traded at US$0.0012 (AU$0.0017) early on Thursday for a market capitalisation of about US$884,000 (AU$1.26 million), 99.74% below the high of US$0.4757 (AU$0.6755) it reached on 18 July 2024. Shiba Story Go!, the studio\u2019s other game, has been sold to a buyer it did not name.<\/p>\n

    Australian studio Immutable cut 29 roles and scaled back its own game development in June, moving Guild of Guardians to maintenance mode, and a16z-backed custody startup Entropy shut down and returned capital to investors in January, after crypto venture deal count fell about 60% in 2025 to roughly 1,200 transactions.<\/p>\n

    Read more: Bitcoin \u2018Plebs\u2019 Rush to Move Funds as Suspected Coldcard Hack Sparks Self-Custody Fears<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Blockchain,Gaming#a16zBacked #Proof #Play #Shuts #OpenSources #Pirate #Nation #Assets1786005973<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Proof of Play said on 4 August it is winding down, three years after raising US$33 million in a seed round co-led by a16z and Greenoaks. The studio published the Pirate Nation Unity client on GitHub on 17 June and the game\u2019s artwork on 31 July under a CC0 licence, both weeks before the announcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[6050,1150,6053,6051,6052,2099,194,1767],"class_list":["post-11552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin","tag-a16zbacked","tag-assets","tag-nation","tag-opensources","tag-pirate","tag-play","tag-proof","tag-shuts"],"yoast_head":"\na16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Proof of Play said on 4 August it is winding down, three years after raising US$33 million in a seed round co-led by a16z and Greenoaks. The studio published the Pirate Nation Unity client on GitHub on 17 June and the game\u2019s artwork on 31 July under a CC0 licence, both weeks before the announcement.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-06T08:46:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u884c\u653f\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u884c\u653f\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552\",\"name\":\"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T08:46:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/\",\"name\":\"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis\",\"description\":\"Latest Crypto & Bitcoin News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf\",\"name\":\"\u884c\u653f\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u884c\u653f\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo3.aiwalls.com\/coinbase\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets","og_description":"Proof of Play said on 4 August it is winding down, three years after raising US$33 million in a seed round co-led by a16z and Greenoaks. The studio published the Pirate Nation Unity client on GitHub on 17 June and the game\u2019s artwork on 31 July under a CC0 licence, both weeks before the announcement.","og_url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552","og_site_name":"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","article_published_time":"2026-08-06T08:46:13+00:00","author":"\u884c\u653f","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u884c\u653f","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552","name":"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-06T08:46:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/proof-of-play-pirate.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=11552#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"a16z-Backed Proof of Play Shuts Down, Open-Sources Pirate Nation Assets"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/","name":"Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis","description":"Latest Crypto & Bitcoin News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/822778c5844e0d16d43dce6630f4f1bf","name":"\u884c\u653f","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4c2d23409b09e004cef3facbe677e95c5401f9e29680f3a311e0130c5748089?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u884c\u653f"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo3.aiwalls.com\/coinbase"],"url":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}