**Aqua, a gaming NFT marketplace, shuts down**
**CEO announces closure on Linkedin**
The CEO of Aqua, Sean Ryan, announced on Linkedin that the gaming NFT marketplace Aqua is no more. The announcement came on Friday, following a plan that was first shared last month. According to Ryan, the decision to shut down Aqua was made due to the slow scaling of the Web3 gaming market, which did not reach a mass market size in a reasonable time frame.
**Challenges faced by Aqua**
Ryan acknowledged that while Aqua had its successes, the Web3 gaming market failed to scale as expected, prompting the decision to cease operations. He also expressed his belief in the idea that gamers should own their gaming assets, but acknowledged that it may take longer than anticipated.
**Partnerships and struggle to raise funds**
Aqua was launched by Ryan in 2022 and had partnerships with blockchain firms like Immutable and Polygon Labs. However, the startup struggled to raise funds in a broader crypto gaming market with “slower-than-expected growth.” As a result, Aqua has now closed its doors after less than two years in operation.
**Aqua’s vision and competition in the NFT gaming space**
Aqua aimed to offer a gaming NFT marketplace and embedded marketplace solutions for game developers. The marketplace supported NFTs on Ethereum, as well as scaling networks Polygon and Immutable X.
Ryan had previously stated in an interview that Aqua was designed for true gamers, not for crypto traders looking to profit from flipping gaming NFTs. This vision faced competition from other players in the gaming NFT marketplace space, including Sequence, G2A, OpenSea, and Magic Eden.
**Continued competition and GameStop’s decision**
Apart from Aqua, other gaming NFT platforms have also faced challenges. In August, GameStop announced the discontinuation of its NFT wallet due to regulatory uncertainty.
**Closing thoughts**
With Aqua announcing its closure, the gaming NFT marketplace space continues to see challenges and changes. While the vision of owning gaming assets through NFTs remains strong, the industry faces hurdles in achieving mass market adoption.
As the gaming NFT marketplace evolves, it will be interesting to see how other players in the industry adapt to the changing landscape.
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