It is with a very heavy heart that I announce that we are once again forced to significantly downsize the Splinterlands organization. The people here are like a family more than like co-workers and most of us are here because we genuinely love the Splinterlands product and want to be a part of it, which makes it extremely sad and difficult to have to let anyone go.
That being said, we have a responsibility to our community and to all stakeholders to manage expenses appropriately so that we can ensure that Splinterlands can always weather the tough times, no matter how long they may last, and that means we sometimes have to make tough decisions.
Many of you reading this will probably feel quite frustrated about the situation and the past decisions that led us here. Please know that I share your frustrations, which is why this announcement is not just about reducing expenses, but also about how the business will be restructured and will operate very differently from how it has in the past to ensure that we not only never end up in this situation again, but that we are well positioned to capitalize on the amazing potential we have in Splinterlands and our other products and partnerships going forward.
First and foremost, all projects and initiatives that are not part of the core Splinterlands product will be split out into a separate entity called Invennium Corp. This includes Genesis League Sports, the Invennium platform, and everything else except Splinterlands and Soulkeep (which is considered to be part of Splinterlands). Invennium Corp. will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Steem Monsters Corp. (the parent company) and will be led by 
We feel that there is still a massive opportunity in that part of our business, but having our leadership team splitting their time between Splinterlands and Invennium has led to neither side getting the focus and attention that they need.
Splitting out the organization in this way will allow for each of the companies to have their own separate funds, sources of capital, and leadership teams that can focus their full time and attention on their product lines. I am very much looking forward to seeing
Steem Monsters Corp. (which will operate Splinterlands and Soulkeep) will be led by me, 
The way that the Splinterlands organization operates will also change significantly going forward, again to ensure that we do not end up back in this situation and that we are well positioned to grow and unlock the value of this amazing product and community in the future.
Over the past year or so, the company has been prioritizing short-term revenue over long term sustainability with the hopes of buying time until the market recovers and avoiding difficult decisions like the cuts being announced today. I want to assure the community that this will not be the case going forward.
In addition to the significant reduction in expenses, I am going to do whatever it takes to raise investment capital for the business. This will allow us to focus on building a sustainable business with the opportunity for tremendous growth over the long term.
Our roadmap for Splinterlands going forward will be similar to what it has been in the past, with the major focuses listed below. While this restructuring may delay some things in the short term, I am confident that these changes will allow us to be much more streamlined and efficient in getting great products built in the long run.
Speaking of the Rebellion set - we have a major announcement around how the new set of cards will be sold which we hope will highlight our commitment to building a long term, sustainable ecosystem for Splinterlands.
We plan to propose that the Rebellion set be owned and sold by the SPS DAO rather than the Splinterlands company (similar to Riftwatchers), and in return we will ask that the DAO hire Steem Monsters Corp. to develop and distribute the packs through the Splinterlands game platform. This will mark a major milestone in our long term goal of allowing the player community to not just own the assets in the game - but to actually own the game itself.
In order to do this, I plan to submit an SPS governance proposal in the near future asking the DAO to pay Steem Monsters Corp. $250,000 in USDT/USDC from its treasury to fund the initial development of Rebellion and for the DAO to split all revenue from Rebellion pack sales 50/50 with Steem Monsters Corp. in order to fund the continued development and operation of the Splinterlands game platform going forward. This would mean that half of all Rebellion pack sale proceeds go to the DAO (in DEC) instead of everything going to the Splinterlands company as has been the case in the past.
As you can imagine, if approved by the staked SPS token holders, this could potentially lead to millions of dollars worth of DEC going to the DAO and being taken out of circulation over the life of the set, which I expect will help put both the community and the company in a much better position in the future. This is a prime example of how the company can forego some revenue in the short term in order to build a more successful and sustainable ecosystem over the long term, but we need to keep our expenses in check and our focus aligned in order for it to work.
While I don't want to get too off-topic, I do want to note that we are currently planning for Rebellion to be more than just a typical new card set. It is planned to introduce an entirely new mechanic into the Splinterlands game designed to give players more agency in battles and make the gameplay significantly more engaging. More details about the Rebellion set, including pricing, print amounts, and presale info, will be shared as it gets closer to launch which we are still expecting to be before the end of this year.
I absolutely hate having to let great people go. These individuals are not just employees, they are friends, and they have been integral parts of the company and the Splinterlands community. Despite that, I hope that the community understands and shares my view that significant expense reductions and organizational changes were needed, and I hope that they are seen postively because I believe that they will set us up for a new phase of growth and success for the entire ecosystem beyond anything we have seen in the past.
I am looking forward to having enough funds and low enough expenses that we can really focus on building great products without needing to rush things out before they are ready or launch presales for new products years before they are expected to be released. In fact, I plan for there to be absolutely no new products until we have fully delivered and exceeded expectations on everything we have promised and/or pre-sold in the past.
Last, but not least, I am planning to hold a last minute Town Hall / Q&A session in the Splinterlands Discord server (and all other regular channels) to discuss the reorganization, the plan going forward, and anything else the community would like to ask about. It is scheduled to take place in just a few minutes at 2:00 PM ET / 18:00 UTC. I hope to see you there!
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