The release of “Dimensionals”, the new NFT game, generates frustration.

The fact that game studios decide to withdraw and leave the crypto space isn’t necessarily a new event in the timeline; however, given the history and context of this specific case, many members of the web3 gaming community found today’s Dimensionals announcement (which some have described as highly anticipated) particularly frustrating.

In a six-part thread on X, IcoBeast.eth shared a detailed analysis of the recent events involving Mino Games, the developers behind the game Dimensionals. The game initially began as a web3 RPG (raising $15 million in the process) before the team decided to return to traditional gaming, completely removing any trace that they were once a web3 game with NFTs in preparation for their marketing activation and launch on Steam.

Before diving into the matter, it's worth mentioning that Sasha MacKinnon, co-founder and CEO of the studio, shared a much-anticipated update on the decision on X, citing industry security issues, financial incentives, and lack of interest in gameplay as some of the reasons behind the company's decision to transition to a "pure web2 title". While several X users shared their best wishes for Sasha and the team, many others expressed their frustration over the lack of accountability and commitment, something that IcoBeast further summarized in his thread.

To view the full official announcement from Mino Games' CEO, check out the complete post on Sasha's account below:

Please note that each section of this article below was adapted and copied directly (with permission) from the original thread created by IcoBeast with direct quotes and first-person mentions representing the original post. The complete unedited thread can be viewed directly on X below:

"As an initial note, this is not an 'attack' or a 'hit piece' on any person. I didn't even want to write this, but after months of attempting to pressure the team privately to do the right thing and distribute all crypto raised from this effort to holders, it became clear that it was time to let the masses decide for themselves what to think", stated IcoBeast as he began a six-part thread.

"This is a story that details how a company decided to 'pivot' to crypto, raise eight digits in capital, promise the world to buyers, holders, and traders, and then subsequently renege on all promised utility and finally abandon crypto entirely, giving a few measly pennies to a small group of holders and saying 'we did the best we could'." Next, IcoBeast continues to structure his thread and details the following: "Specifically, we're exposing how a team of exceptionally inefficient operators managed to:

Raise (and waste) tens of millions of dollars Generate over 3000e (about $10 million) in volume on their collection through massive utility promises Fail to deliver on ANY of their promises after mint Try to 'exit' web3 completely by issuing $38,569.64 (14.58e) to compensate a few select holders Blame the 'bear markets' and web3 profit-seekers for the company's poor performance and inability to find product-market fit (PMF).

What follows is a litany of possible lies or unkept promises from the past 18 months. It’s up to you to decide if these people are extremely incompetent, malicious, or both," his post begins. Below is a full analysis of IcoBeast’s points, as highlighted throughout his thread on X.

The Story

"The date is February 9, 2023.

Mino Games, led by Sasha MacKinnon, has just announced that in the depths of the darkest NFT bear market, they raised $15 million to build the next big 'web3 game': Dimensionals RPG.

What follows from here will only truly be understood by WL NFT players.

The Dimensionals X account grew from 0 to 200k followers in a matter of weeks.

They regularly drew thousands of listeners to Spaces and Discord Audio to hear about the 'next Pokémon' that was being built: real excitement.

EVERYONE needed to have a Dimensional Genesis Stone: 'Dabear' (another X user) summarized why everyone cared a month after it was created (screenshot below).

'Each stoneholder would be gifted all future max-level characters in the game and could sell (or rent) these max-level characters to players who didn’t own NFTs via an in-app marketplace. A true NFT factory asset that continues to generate value for you passively just by owning it,' IcoBeast states.

"The Mint, to be clear, was a massive disaster. Sasha was tricked by a whitelist manipulator who added many of their own alt wallets to the whitelist, and the same whitelist manipulator also received a 'Mythic' Stone personally from Sasha's hands because Sasha was incapable of understanding web3 and the people who reside here.

Nate sold all the stones and made a healthy profit of over $25,000 in under 24 hours. Honestly, this should have been my red flag to exit immediately. Weeks later, Eve's minting date was approaching… and it was supposed to be the second-tier 'factory' NFT that also produced some heroes and provided in-game benefits but not as useful as the Genesis dimensional stones. Eve was also supposed to act as the 'entry pass' to play an early version of the game for rewards: the Alpha Tests." "The problem? Sasha and the team could never meet the promised deadlines. Sasha himself would disappear for weeks (occasionally calling in from exotic places like Costa Rica or the Italian coast), leaving his team behind with no answers and no knowledge on how to run a community. In the end, he would resurface, and little progress had been made [except] 'THE BIGGEST WEB3 GAMING COLLABORATION EVER': the marketing machine must go on," IcoBeast continues.

Abandoned Promises and Shifted Goals

Dimensionals promised TONS of Eve whitelists to those who didn’t hold stones and even announced 'the largest collaboration in web3 gaming', the hype cycle started all over again! ... but that Eve mint never happened. In the middle of the summer of 2023, Stoneholders could stake their Stones into a contract and 'polish' them to receive other exclusive in-game NFTs for the upcoming game.

If any of these items did anything useful or had any value? Of course not.

Holders were beginning to see the writing on the wall. Sasha and his team slowly distanced themselves, and anyone with a brain would realize that the team wasn’t planning to deliver on their promises to build a web3 game with proper in-game economies. Many promises were made with entirely different intentions for the holders.

Sasha finally resurfaced in December 2023 to announce that the market was in 'a downward spiral' and that 'unfortunately, interest in web3 was so low' that the team would redirect their efforts to building a pure web2 game, with no interest in NFTs or web3.

"This doesn’t mean we won’t do web3 in the future!" he shouted from some remote beach while dodging all the holders' questions and ignoring the obvious question at the heart of everyone: WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THESE STONES YOU PROMISED US WOULD BE SO VALUABLE?

Today.

Sasha finally admits that he completely failed to find PMF for the game and will now launch Dimensionals as a pure web2 game on Steam. No mention of anything related to web3 and even a slight humiliation of the space and its holders (who, by the way, injected eight figures into the project’s treasury). He admitted to losing most of the $15 million, admitted that he and his team were never able to figure out how to make web3 work, and even claimed to have tried web3 in 'every possible way.'"