When we started Ultra, our vision was bold: to redefine gaming through true digital ownership and build a platform where players, developers, and creators could thrive together. Over the years, we built a full-fledged gaming hub including a store, marketplace, wallet, tournaments, game publishing tools, and a blockchain network powering it all.
In the past two years we found ourselves in a difficult position and knew we needed to evolve. The year began with belief that the change in management and fresh capital injection were the right decisions to get Ultra back on track.
Now is the moment for us to reflect on the mistakes we’ve made and where we are going next.
Spread ourselves too thin.
We believed building a complete ecosystem from day one was the right path. In doing so, we lost focus and couldn’t bring every component to the level of excellence we envisioned.
Too focused on our vision.
In our conviction to push boundaries, we were fixated on our vision of a complete gaming hub and couldn’t pivot when market showed signs of weakness.
Underestimated the market.
Focused heavily on a web2 gaming model and the gaming-specific aspects of web3, we underestimated some of the key components driving broader web3 ecosystems.
Challenging revenue model.
Multiple factors, including changes in game distribution fees by larger platforms, made it increasingly difficult to execute our original business model. This lack of revenue added pressure to our fundraising.
Inaccurate projections.
Our projections proved too optimistic, and some of our original business objectives became unachievable as content release timelines extended and market conditions worsened.
Changes in management.
We brought in new people with the belief they could help accelerate the company, but in hindsight, the fit wasn’t fully aligned with what we needed at the time.
Let down our partners, team, and community.
We know we fell short… for our partners, our team, and our community. Each placed trust in us, and we weren’t always able to deliver the momentum needed to honor that trust. We sincerely regret the impact all these challenges have had on every party involved.
Despite all of this, we’re proud of what our team have been able to achieve thus far.
We built a secure, high-performance blockchain used by thousands of users. We created tools that pushed the boundaries of digital ownership. We worked with passionate partners and created a dedicated team that delivered through years of innovation and uncertainty. We survived a time in history where countless others have given up or failed. It hasn’t always been pretty but here we are.
Now we need to acknowledge our shortcomings and adapt. Today we’ve streamlined Ultra to a focused team of 7, with Nicolas Gilot returning as CEO. We’ve redirected all remaining resources toward what we believe delivers the strongest value: our blockchain. By concentrating on this core asset, we can operate far more efficiently and build around this.
Currently, we are assessing the market and studying the core components of leading ecosystems to better determine where Ultra can position itself. We are identifying where our existing assets fit within this changing market and can deliver the most to the ecosystem. After this process, we’ll communicate our plan openly and avoid repeating past mistakes.
In the interim, Ultra will pause the development of the gaming client until market conditions and funding allow us to resume. Our belief is there is a model that can still work, and that Citadels & Empires can be the catalyst for our gaming hub in the future, but for now we can’t justify the spend to continue the client’s development. That said, we will continue operating and developing our blockchain network and all core services that keep user assets safe and functional, including:
- The Ultra Chrome extension
- Web wallet
- Sign-in / Sign-up systems
- UNIQ API
Your on-chain assets remain safe and fully accessible.
To ensure the ecosystem continues to grow, we are creating a community-driven vehicle, the Ultra DAO. This DAO will be an Ecosystem Accelerator seeded with part of Ultra’s treasury and tasked with attracting projects and users to participate on our network. We’ll work closely together to make sure the DAO has what it needs to succeed.
We’re also consolidating our communication channels on X and Discord to share updates more consistently and support our ecosystem partners.
What can you expect next from Ultra:
- Maintain blockchain services – Immediately
- Release the bridge – Jan 2026
- Establish the DAO – Jan 2026
- Repositioning of Ultra – Q1 2026
- Release of Citadels & Empires on Ultra – TBA
We’re committed to clearer communication and a more sustainable approach moving forward. Our new structure gives us the foundation and flexibility to fully leverage our assets and begin building a future where Ultra’s vision can become reality.
To our users, partners, and supporters: thank you for standing with us through our wins and loses.
Please join our upcoming live session with co-founder Nicolas, who will share more details and answer your questions about the road ahead.
– The Ultra Team