Gala Games has broken the news that The Walking Dead: Empires which is their NFT-based survival game will officially shut down on July 31, 2025. As of that date, players will no longer have access to the game, leaving many who invested in expensive in-game NFTs disappointed.
The game, inspired by the hit TV series, launched its beta last year in August after being announced in 2021. It allowed players to buy NFT-based weapons, supplies, and land deeds to build bases and survive against zombies.
At the peak of it, some very rare NFTs went for great sums, legendary land deeds sold for as much as $67,000 and even a single NFT handgun changed hands for $30,000 in 2023.
Now, with the shutdown, these digital assets will seem to have lost their base purpose. Gala Games says it will compensate players by giving them replacement NFTs in other games, promising “equal functionality.” However, many in the community are calling this a “rug pull”, a term used when a project takes money but fails to deliver.
Players Feel Cheated
Crypto gaming influencer Jesus Martinez criticized the move on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “People paid upwards of 10k + for lands and are now getting $2 mystery boxes”
Other players echoed the frustration, with one accusing Gala Games of “frontend extraction and backend non-delivery,” suggesting the company took players’ money without ever intending to fully support the game long-term.
Only players who held The Walking Dead: Empires NFTs on or prior to April 29, 2025, will receive the replacement items. Gala Games insists these new NFTs will still have value in its other games, but skepticism remains high.
