General

Illuvium Staff Take Another Pay Cut to Build the Overworld MMO

Kieran Warwick said pay cuts left Illuvium with enough money for over a year. Most of the team was building Obelisk Rising, the rebuilt Illuvium Overworld MMO.

In this image from Illuvium, large green leaves frame a view of a futuristic purple structure on a rocky shore next to the water, overlaid with the text "ILLUVIUM STAFF TAKE ANOTHER PAY CUT".
Nyx Databorne
By Nyx Databorne, News Host, Author, Analyst
Published on September 30, 2026 · 4 min read
$ILV+0.69%$ETH+1.81%

On the 21st of August 2026, Illuvium co-founder Kieran Warwick said the studio had spent six months cutting costs. Most recently, the staff agreed to a further cut to their pay. He said that left the studio with enough money to keep going for more than 12 months. Almost all of the team that was left worked on one game, the rebuilt Illuvium Overworld. [1] Illuvium calls it Obelisk Rising. [2] ILV rose 14.1% from the close of the 21st of August 2026 to the close of the 29th of September 2026. The wider gaming market, the Gaming Token Index – Composite, rose 14.2% over the same days.

  • Kieran Warwick @KieranWarwick X (Twitter) Most recently, the team agreed to reduce their wages even further to preserve runway. With these changes, we now have over 12 months of runway again. [1]
Daily closes for Illuvium over the 30 days to the 29th of September 2026, with the swing envelope.
  1. 1. 16 September 2026. Illuvium Taiga Boreal Arena Event Pass Launches
  2. 2. 17 September 2026. Hyper finally carries class identity: Fighter, Bulwark, Empath/Psion, Rogue each scale differently
  3. 3. 28 September 2026. Sylen's Illuvium Stream Calm Run Praised in Arena House League
  4. 4. 29 September 2026. Arena 1.18.6 is here
Illuvium: daily closes and the levels it turned at: data table
DateIlluviumFloorCeiling
2026-08-313.023.013.58
2026-09-013.043.023.60
2026-09-023.043.033.62
2026-09-033.173.043.64
2026-09-043.083.053.66
2026-09-053.173.053.68
2026-09-063.293.063.70
2026-09-073.343.073.72
2026-09-083.263.083.74
2026-09-093.233.093.76
2026-09-103.093.093.78
2026-09-113.103.093.79
2026-09-123.813.093.81
2026-09-133.543.093.83
2026-09-143.543.093.84
2026-09-153.283.093.86
2026-09-163.243.093.88
2026-09-173.363.093.89
2026-09-183.523.093.91
2026-09-193.543.093.92
2026-09-203.483.093.94
2026-09-213.693.093.95
2026-09-223.853.093.97
2026-09-233.623.093.98
2026-09-243.813.094.00
2026-09-253.903.094.01
2026-09-263.983.094.03
2026-09-274.043.094.04
2026-09-283.733.094.04
2026-09-293.873.094.04

What we have published before

What the token actually does

In this screenshot from the game Illuvium, a tactical battle unfolds on a hexagonal grid where various creature units are positioned for combat within a futuristic arena interface.
In this screenshot from the game Illuvium, a tactical battle unfolds on a hexagonal grid where various creature units are positioned for combat within a futuristic arena interface.

ILV is Illuvium’s own token. Holders can stake it, which means locking it up to earn a reward. Illuvium’s help centre says stakers get a share of the studio’s revenue. The payout starts once that revenue passes 150 ETH and a reserve called the Safety Pool is full. [6] Illuvium’s games include Illuvium: Arena, where players place a squad of creatures called Illuvials on a board to fight. Illuvium: Zero and Illuvium Deathmatch are also live.

What people are saying

Players

Arena’s latest patch had players talking on X. One praised how carefully the fights had been tuned, while another said the game was hard to learn.

It takes a long time to figure it out, the game is not easy

LootFox, on X, the 30th of September 2026

Journalists

The Defiant covered Warwick’s post on the 21st of August 2026, and CryptoSlate followed a day later. Both noted that he did not share the studio’s cash balance. [7] [8]

The cut buys Illuvium past August 2027 on Warwick’s own numbers, at a point when crypto gaming studios are closing. [7]

The Defiant, the 21st of August 2026

The studio’s survival now depends on a narrower MMO plan and additional releases, but current cash and monthly burn remain undisclosed. [8]

CryptoSlate, the 22nd of August 2026

Performance

Illuvium (ILV) rose 37.0% in the three months to the 29th of September 2026. Over the same window the wider gaming market, the Gaming Token Index – Composite, gained 8.9%. The token has also outperformed the wider gaming market over six months and over one year.

  • Over the day to the 29th of September 2026 the token rose 3.8%. The wider gaming market rose 1.4%.
  • It ranked 66th of the 213 gaming tokens that gained over the day. The closest move to it was XGAME, up 3.8%.
  • It trades 99.8% below its all-time high, set in November 2021. The wider gaming market is 94% below its own.
ILV against Gaming Token Index – Composite over the 92 days to the 29th of September 2026.
Illuvium and Gaming Token Index – Composite, day by day: data table
DateILVGaming Token Index – Composite
2026-06-30100.0100.0
2026-07-01105.1111.2
2026-07-02108.5113.5
2026-07-03115.2107.0
2026-07-04114.3112.6
2026-07-05112.5112.9
2026-07-06116.4109.0
2026-07-07112.1112.0
2026-07-08110.5105.4
2026-07-09110.4112.5
2026-07-10111.9113.2
2026-07-11112.4110.6
2026-07-12110.9111.4
2026-07-13106.4108.9
2026-07-14110.0110.0
2026-07-15108.6110.9
2026-07-16107.2108.3
2026-07-17105.4105.5
2026-07-18103.4104.2
2026-07-19103.7104.4
2026-07-20106.1105.3
2026-07-21109.1107.5
2026-07-22106.5106.3
2026-07-23104.0109.1
2026-07-24102.2110.2
2026-07-25102.9112.2
2026-07-26103.3114.0
2026-07-27102.8107.3
2026-07-2899.1110.2
2026-07-2996.5110.9
2026-07-30103.3112.0
2026-07-31100.5114.8
2026-08-01101.2116.4
2026-08-02101.2108.2
2026-08-03104.0105.7
2026-08-04103.1101.0
2026-08-05102.8102.6
2026-08-06106.5100.6
2026-08-07107.2101.9
2026-08-08108.7109.1
2026-08-09109.4118.0
2026-08-10106.597.7
2026-08-11103.492.5
2026-08-12102.793.5
2026-08-13100.990.6
2026-08-14110.187.9
2026-08-15105.884.9
2026-08-16109.084.9
2026-08-17105.583.9
2026-08-18103.082.6
2026-08-19110.085.0
2026-08-20113.088.9
2026-08-21120.195.3
2026-08-22118.595.2
2026-08-23119.895.1
2026-08-24116.994.2
2026-08-25113.192.4
2026-08-26113.092.4
2026-08-27113.894.5
2026-08-28106.093.3
2026-08-29109.193.6
2026-08-30109.593.4
2026-08-31107.092.1
2026-09-01107.791.8
2026-09-02107.691.7
2026-09-03112.395.1
2026-09-04109.293.0
2026-09-05112.394.9
2026-09-06116.695.0
2026-09-07118.496.3
2026-09-08115.696.2
2026-09-09114.594.9
2026-09-10109.691.3
2026-09-11109.792.1
2026-09-12135.293.0
2026-09-13125.494.3
2026-09-14125.694.7
2026-09-15116.490.7
2026-09-16114.890.1
2026-09-17119.293.3
2026-09-18124.798.3
2026-09-19125.5100.2
2026-09-20123.499.4
2026-09-21130.8105.5
2026-09-22136.4107.2
2026-09-23128.4104.6
2026-09-24134.9107.2
2026-09-25138.2110.4
2026-09-26141.1111.0
2026-09-27143.3112.5
2026-09-28132.1107.3
2026-09-29137.0108.9
How far the token and Gaming Token Index – Composite moved over each window, to the 29th of September 2026.
ILV against Gaming Token Index – Composite: data table
WindowILVGaming Token Index – Composite
1 year-70.14%-72.92%
6 months+13.42%-7.43%
3 months+37.04%+8.87%
1 month+25.11%+16.58%
ILV on the day, beside the gaming tokens that moved most in the same direction rather than the ones closest to it.
Illuvium against the biggest movers in its group: data table
TokenReturn
ILV+3.8%
MON+6,003.6%
PSI+172.4%
RMV+157.0%
SKULL+128.4%
MYRIA+108.1%

More on the story

On the 23rd of February 2026, Illuvium’s council minutes record that Overworld was made smaller to aim for a launch in December 2026. [9] On the 10th of September 2026, Illuvium posted that “a lot of Web3 gaming disappeared when the market got tough.” Its answer was to build smaller and move faster. Part of that was Primal Tactica, a Steam game from an outside studio that licensed Illuvium’s IP. [2] Warwick had set its debut for Steam Next Fest in October 2026, with Illuvium taking the lion’s share of the revenue. [1] He also named Loadout, a trading app for game tokens, which would send tokens to the ILV staking contract. [1] [10]

References

  1. ↑ (Illuvium co-founder Kieran Warwick, on X, the 21st of August 2026) Source
  2. ↑ (Illuvium, on X, the 10th of September 2026) Source
  3. ↑ “Illuvium Arena 1.18.6 Gives Air and Tempest New Tricks” (our own coverage, the 30th of September 2026)
  4. ↑ “Sylen’s Illuvium Stream Calm Run Praised in Arena House League” (our own coverage, the 28th of September 2026) Source
  5. ↑ “Illuvium Taiga Boreal Arena Event Pass Launches” (our own coverage, the 16th of September 2026) Source
  6. ↑ “Stake ILV on the Base network” (the project’s documentation, the 20th of November 2025) Source
  7. ↑ “Illuvium Team Cuts Wages To Extend Runway” (The Defiant, the 21st of August 2026) Source
  8. ↑ “Illuvium says six months of cuts bought it another year as MMO becomes its main remaining bet” (CryptoSlate, the 22nd of August 2026) Source
  9. ↑ “IMC Meeting Minutes – 23 February 2026” (Illuvium governance, the 23rd of February 2026) Source
  10. ↑ “Loadout: Crypto Trading for Mainstream Games” (Loadout) Source

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