Updating the Terms

We were overwhelmed by the quality of submissions for the Builders Program. Our initial expectations were moderate, but we expect some of these games to get really big and generate significant value down the line.

Given the potential scale, we have updated and expanded on some of the terms of the program before accepting participants. Our primary considerations as we think through these updates include:

• Ensuring Builders will be rewarded for their efforts in creating value within the Axie ecosystem

• Structuring the system so value from these projects will accrue back to the Axie Infinity community and AXS holders

• Eliminating friction for Builders to be able to build, put experiences out there, and figure out what works

• Requiring more structure and due diligence around projects that players may invest significant effort, time, or money into, to reduce risk to community members 

• Protecting the Axie Infinity intellectual property from being used in ways that may negatively impact the ecosystem

It is not a trivial task to balance all of these considerations, but we’ve come up with a framework that we believe is a strong foundation to iterate on.

In standard game intellectual property (IP) licensing, developers would need to pay millions of dollars a year to the IP holder to be allowed to use it at all. On top of that there would be significant revenue splits that go directly to the IP holder as well. In our case, we are completely removing the multi-million dollar barrier to entry to use the Axie Infinity IP, as well as having the revenue split go to the Treasury (which of course is owned by the Community) instead of Sky Mavis. This is a new way of letting a gaming brand proliferate and spread. We’re ecstatic to see what comes of it!

We all own Axie Infinity together as a community and it’s important that we protect this ecosystem from bad actors. We want to minimize situations where community members may spend (time / money / effort) on a projects with no intentions of adding value and creating amazing experiences for this community.

At the same time, we know there is infinite potential with Builders in the Axie Infinity community to build amazing experiences for everyone, and we want to make sure we encourage, allow for, and reward that! It’s not easy to build out quality new gaming experiences and we have the utmost respect for every Builder. This is also why we have doubled the minimum AXS grant for teams who make it into the program to 10k USD.

Some Builders have indicated they are not interested in charging players or generating revenue. They just want to create awesome new experiences for the community to use their Axies in and develop open-source tools for other Builders to use. That is strongly encouraged too! Creating a collection of community tools for each other will help everyone’s success. 

Here are some details on what is allowed and not allowed for various community developers depending on if they are in the Builders Program or not. 

Terms around Community Development

*Builders Program - Terms and Conditions

Expanding on some of the requirements outlined here:

• $10,000 Monthly Revenue limit if not in the Builders Program: If a project not in the Builders Program exceeds 10,000 USD in monthly revenue they should contact Sky Mavis to sign an official agreement if they wish to continue to generate greater than 10,000 USD in revenue a month. Upon evaluation by Sky Mavis, the team may be inducted into the Builders Program, sign a separate agreement, be asked to remain below the 10,000 USD limit in revenue (with any overages going into the Treasury), or be asked to shut down if Sky Mavis discovers any issues that may negatively affect the Axie Infinity community. Generally, if there is an experience that is overall positive for the community, players love it, and we can trust the developers, we will likely support it and roll them into the Builders Program! Sky Mavis will also be actively looking to invest into and support teams who have shown the ability to build value. 

• Revenue Treasury Split: Ensuring a % of project revenues (whether AXS or SLP) go to the Community Treasury guarantees that we are able to retain value within the community. There is no longer a requirement to burn SLP. As per the table below, if more funds are going directly back to the players the amount going to the Treasury is minimal. Ultimately, all funds in the Treasury are community owned as per our recent post. To expand on it as well, everything that is funded by AXS emissions currently (e.g. P&E rewards, Staking rewards, Ecosystem Fund) will need to be funded by the Treasury at some point if AXS holders want to maintain those in some capacity so it is essential that all activities in the ecosystem are set-up to accrue value there. The goal of these percentages here is to balance it so that Builders will not be limited as they get started, get rewarded for their successes, and protect significant value from being extracted from the ecosystem. As Builders become successful and are generating more revenue that was unlocked by building on top of the Axie brand and community, they will contribute more back to the community directly or via the Treasury, while still maintaining a large amount of revenue going to their team. 

• Revenue Treasury Split examples: To further clarify how these work, here are some examples - 

  • If a Builder’s game makes $40k in a month, and the percentage allocated for player prizes is 0%: the Builder can keep all $40k of the revenue.

  • If a Builder’s game makes $70k in a month, and the percentage allocated for player prizes is 20%: The Builder first takes 80% of $50k as revenue - then for the remaining $20k, 50% must go to the Treasury, and the Builder keeps 30%.

  • If a Builder’s game makes $70k in a month, and the percentage allocated for player prizes is 50%: The Builder first takes 50% of $50k as revenue - then for the remaining $20k, 20% must go to the Treasury, and the Builder keeps 30%.

  • If a Builder’s game makes $1.5M in a month, and the percentage allocated for player prizes is 50%: The Builder first takes 50% of $50k as revenue - then for the next $950k, 20% must go to the Treasury, and the Builder keeps 30% - finally, for the remaining $500k, 25% must go to the Treasury, and the Builder keeps 25%.

• Gambling: Gambling is a sensitive industry with varied laws and regulations across countries and states. We do not condone any type of gambling related experiences with Axie Infinity and will ask for operations to cease for any we are made aware of. Products created in this domain create significant risks for the entire Axie Infinity community.

• Fundraising: The Builders Program and the allowance of community development is meant to allow community members to build Axie Infinity projects they are passionate about, that will also be positive for the community and be rewarded in the process. It is not meant to be a form of fundraising of any kind. Teams should not be able to raise major funds off of the Axie Infinity Intellectual Property unless they have shown they can ship a quality product that will benefit the ecosystem, at which point Sky Mavis may provide allowances. Those who have the experience and team to build games professionally that want major funding should reach out and go through a heavy due diligence process with Sky Mavis. We will be actively monitoring the progress of builders and will be supporting the best with both funds and marketing.

• Sky Mavis reserves the right to ask any projects to cease using the Axie Infinity IP at any time if we find it can potentially be harmful to the Axie Infinity ecosystem and community in any way. 

Protecting Yourself and the Axie Infinity Community

For the protection of the community we advise on the following:

• Never purchase game NFTs related to any Axie Infinity projects unless we have explicitly indicated it is safe to do so via official communication channels.

• One way to spot game NFTs that are not sanctioned by Sky Mavis is if it is not being issued on the Ronin blockchain. Do not purchase any Axie Infinity related NFTs that claim to be usable in a game that are not on the Ronin blockchain. 

• Be careful and perform diligent research around any Axie Infinity experiences that are not officially sanctioned by Sky Mavis, only spend and interact with these experiences with the full understanding that they have not been vetted or sanctioned officially by Sky Mavis and carry the corresponding risks.

We encourage the community to spread the word and notify Sky Mavis of any potentially malicious projects or ones that may be exceeding the $10k monthly revenue limit. We will actively inform the community on projects to not engage with as well if we discover there are any concerns with it. 

Maximizing for the Highest Quality Experiences

Producing high quality experiences for the community is very important for Sky Mavis. We also wanted to be clear that although we encourage and support the community in experimenting and creating all sorts of games, we will also simultaneously be looking to invest in professional game developers to produce Axie Infinity experiences. There may be cases that we bring in a professional game development studio to produce a game in a genre that the community may have created a game for as well, we will carefully evaluate on a case-by-case basis what would be the best course of action in these situations as well as take in community feedback. In some cases we may want to only have one game in the genre in the ecosystem, and in others it might make sense to allow for multiple titles, especially if there is already significant traction for a live game. We know that the Axie Infinity community wants to see the highest quality games and experiences be developed around the IP and that will be an important priority for us. 

Updated Tools & Documentation

• Axie Developer’s Cookbook: A summary of the available tools Builders can use 

• Axie Infinity Discord: Check the pins in the builders-program and tools-api-etc channels for more information on various tools, as well as if you are looking to recruit more help for your project 

• Coming soon - Ronin Sign Page tool: Verify asset ownership for players, to ensure they are only allowed to use assets in your application that they own  

Let’s Build! 

We will be looking to re-evaluate applications given all of these updated requirements and considerations, projects are welcome to resubmit with updates here.

In the future, we will also be looking to create systems to allow for the community to provide feedback on which types of projects they would really like to see built. 

As mentioned in the initial blog post, this is still early and experimental for us so we will learn and improve with the community as we evolve this program. 

All of these updates will help us maximize the ability for Builders to build while protecting the Axie Infinity ecosystem. We are very excited to move this process along, accept teams into the Builders program, and for projects to eventually launch to the community to enjoy! 

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