Quick Take
- Proof of Play ends $PIRATE rewards in new Pirate Nation event, citing misaligned incentives
- CEO says play-to-earn is broken and new token model is in development
- Infinite Tides Season 3 still offers competition, but without onchain token payouts
Proof of Play, the onchain studio behind Pirate Nation, has dropped token rewards from its latest in-game event, marking a clear step away from the traditional play-to-earn model. The announcement came alongside the launch of Infinite Tides Season 3, a limited two-week competition running through August 4.
Players can still compete in the new Legendary Depths mode, which tasks them with surviving 25 waves and inflicting damage on the sea monster Tortugon. However, there are no $PIRATE token rewards tied to performance this season. Participation now requires owning either a Founder’s Pirate or a VIP Pass.
The shift reflects a broader change in how the studio wants to structure game incentives. Proof of Play CEO Amitt Mahajan, also a co-creator of FarmVille, said the team is walking away from traditional token emissions models. He described the current state of play-and-earn as “fundamentally broken.”
“We’re done giving tokens away to parties that have no alignment with our long-term success,” Mahajan said in a post. “We are developing a token framework for the future that aligns all parties with our continued success.”
The $PIRATE token launched earlier this year and was intended to support Pirate Nation’s growing onchain game economy. It initially rewarded players for engagement, particularly through events like Infinite Tides. The move to cut emissions now suggests a pivot toward a more controlled and possibly off-app-store-compatible model.
Mahajan also hinted at a future focus on mobile-native audiences, noting that most players Proof of Play hopes to reach are not currently onchain or active on X.
Pirate Nation has grown as one of the more visible onchain games since its launch, featuring fully onchain characters, inventory, and events. Proof of Play is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and has signaled its aim to build composable infrastructure for other developers in addition to its own titles.
The studio says it will share more about its revised token model in the coming weeks.
