I think the main consideration here should be whether the amount we pay is reasonable given the expected delivery timeline. I agree that $350k for a 1-year delivery timeline might be a bit expensive, but frankly I would be in favor of paying that much if the delivery was closer to 4-6 months for example. We need to regain momentum, and completing the validators can help, which makes it worth the investment in my opinion.

Here's another way to think about it: the spend we're looking at here is peanuts compared to the EXPECTED value we have for this game/ecosystem/token. Of course we want to be thoughtful about our spending, but if we're overly timid then we potentially run the risk of not giving ourselves the chances we need to succeed.