Tech Desk 
May 25, 2025
Ember Sword, a blockchain-based MMORPG, has shut down despite raising over $200 million from virtual land sales.
The game, developed by Denmark’s Bright Star Studios, aimed to give players true digital ownership using cryptocurrency and NFTs.
Ember Sword shuts down
Ember Sword was introduced in 2018 as an open-world fantasy game that allowed players to earn actual value from in-game assets and land ownership. It operated on the Ethereum blockchain and would allow gameplay for free, although to purchase in-game items and transactions would require the currency of $EMBER. The game was available on PC and mobile.
In May, Bright Star Studios officially shut down the project, stating the project could not continue due to a lack of funding.
This may not be shocking to many, as the studio sold approximately $203.785 million of land plots in the game's Solarwood Nation — one of Ember Sword's four planned worlds — with an impressive sale via nearly 35,000 landowners.
In addition to the land sales, Bright Star raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding in 2020 and $2 million of venture capital in 2021. The development team consisted of at least 21 workers, both full-time and freelancers.
"This isn't the ending any of us wanted," the studio stated on its website, adding it still believes in the future of blockchain in gaming. The shutdown, nonetheless, has left many viewers interested in what will happen to Bright Star Studios and the thousands of investors who bought virtual real estate.
