MetaBlaze: The Story Behind the Failure to Launch the Gaming Platform

** Editorial Update: We have been contacted by an executive member of the new MetaBlaze leadership, claiming that the information presented in this article is misleading, contains significant inaccuracies, and unfairly ties the current management to past controversies of the prior management. Although we requested a list of these inaccuracies, we did not receive it.

We would like to emphasize that this article covers the past chain of events leading to MetaBlaze's failure to launch, based on facts from various sources, and raises questions left open. We are not here to pass judgment on MetaBlaze. The actions of the old leadership do not, in any way, reflect the actions of the new leadership.

We have updated the article title and added a small clarification within the text to reflect these points. We wish the new MetaBlaze leadership success in their efforts to recover the project and hope to cover their great work and the amazing recovery of the project in the future. We will be happy to highlight their successful attempts at changing the past narrative.

Introduction

MetaBlaze launched in early 2022 as a new Play-to-Earn (P2E) platform in the Web3 gaming sector. They aimed to become leaders in this domain with their blockchain-based unique concepts and innovations.

The plan was to create a sci-fi metaverse in a World of Warcraft style on Web3, with its own cryptocurrency and NFT collections as in-game assets. Characters like MetaGoblins, dwarfs, orcs, and elves were designed as NFTs, offering players unique assets with real-world value.

MetaBlaze promised an evolving, story-rich gaming experience, using the latest Web3 and NFT technologies to build an exciting and engaging game. To top over other gaming projects Metablaze emphasized it will go on a path of values of honesty, transparency, and innovations. The whitepaper highlighted unique concepts, such as a no-vesting policy, profit sharing from secondary NFT sales to all NFT holders, and reflection rewards for token holders.

Hey MetaGoblin, what's wrong with your eyes?

The initial reaction was positive, with the company raising $2 million of a $4 million goal from retail investors up to mid-2022. This funding aimed to bring the MetaGoblin-filled universe of Galaxia Blue to life with a game scheduled for release in mid-2022. However, a broader crypto market downturn starting in May 2022 compelled MetaBlaze to rethink its strategy.

The Market Crash and Strategic Pivots

As the crypto market began to falter in May 2022, MetaBlaze encountered significant challenges. The downturn impacted the entire spectrum of gaming, P2E, and NFT marketplaces, leading to reduced trading volumes and investor interest. In response, MetaBlaze postponed its remaining presale rounds, opting to develop a fully functional gaming environment instead of launching with a minimal viable product (MVP). The revised strategy included a series of interconnected mini-games, in areas such as Craft2Earn and Solve2Earn, a decentralized application (dApp), a GNode mobile app, and an AI game companion.

By retooling its strategy, MetaBlaze aimed to navigate the immediate market realities while laying the foundation for a comprehensive gaming platform. This adjustment was designed to enhance the appeal and utility of the MetaBlaze token at launch.

A Chronicle of Constant Changes

As market conditions deteriorated, MetaBlaze expanded its team to enhance product value and refine its direction. However, this expansion led to reduced community engagement, with fewer updates and interactions, a decision justified by the team's focus on product development. This period incurred significant financial costs in development, marketing campaigns, and community rewards, necessitating adjustments to the original plans that often conflicted with community interests. Notable changes included canceling reflection rewards, restricting profit-sharing from secondary NFT sales to the exclusive MetaRoyals collection, opting to sell rather than burn unsold MetaRoyal NFTs, reducing the number of MetaGoblin Kings awarded in raffles to presale buyers, undergoing two blockchain migrations, and delaying product/token launches multiple times. Introducing vesting periods and shifting from a decentralized exchange (DEX) to a centralized exchange (CEX) for the launch also strained community relations.

These changes, while deemed necessary by the company, were viewed by many as a deviation from MetaBlaze's initial promises of transparency and direct community involvement, leading to growing investor distrust.

Perhaps it was better to skip sponsoring the NFT event, and launch instead?

Controversies at MetaBlaze

As 2024 dawned, MetaBlaze found itself embroiled in controversy and uncertainty. The departure of the CEO, which had occurred months earlier, was only publicly acknowledged when the company admitted to severe financial difficulties. With the necessary funds to launch the token depleted, the COO was promoted to CEO in a desperate bid to salvage the project. The new leadership initiated a community fundraising round to finance a major marketing campaign and secure a larger Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on a reputable launchpad, aiming for a subsequent launch on a centralized exchange (CEX). However, this effort was unsuccessful, raising only a few thousand dollars.

As the company’s troubles deepened, alleged issues previously unreported began to surface. One concerning report that has surfaced is an allegation that a core team member was indicted for hard drug dealings in 2021, with his legal proceedings still pending. Despite holding a Certik Gold Badge—a mark of transparency and integrity—MetaBlaze failed to disclose that this individual’s criminal history was omitted from the KYC audit report. This revelation has raised concerns about the company's transparency during its fundraising efforts.

Furthermore, TheHolyCoins’ editorial team has obtained what appears to be an internal company agreement. This document reveals that the former CEO had stepped down more than a year prior, transferring extensive operational control, including CEO and CFO responsibilities, to a new team member who had taken over as head of development in 2022. Despite this significant change in leadership, it is claimed that the company, under the former management, continued to misrepresent the former CEO as the acting CEO, potentially misleading investors and the public during the presale and significant events like NFT NYC 2023.

** It is important to note that the current management has since taken over and is dedicated to transparency, innovation, and protecting investors' interests. **

Investors and the wider community have been left with pressing questions: How could approximately $5 million raised through token and NFT sales be insufficient to launch even the token itself? Why was the $1.6 million designated for exchange liquidity in the original tokenomics (Version 1.1) not utilized as promised to ensure the token's launch? And critically, why were these significant issues not disclosed to potential investors beforehand?

What's Next?

With the cash box empty, and hundreds of thousands of dollars missing to launch, the company is exploring options to solve this issue. One possibility under consideration is a community takeover; however, sources close to the discussions indicate that management is seeking compensation to proceed along this path, and currently, no progress has been made. Numerous investors are filing complaints to different authorities, hoping for the regulators to step in and take action against those involved in the failed project. As of now, it's not clear whether the regulator will step into this and investigate the matter.

We recommend that anyone looking for new crypto projects to invest in early should check out our blog post on the best ways to find new crypto projects.

Best of luck on your investment journey!