Onchain Heroes Confirms Ringbearers, Heroes and Maze of Gains Keys Remain Safe Through Abstract’s Shutdown

In Brief:

• Onchain Heroes has confirmed that Ringbearers, heroes and Maze of Gains keys remain secure following Igloo Inc.’s announcement that its Abstract chain will go dark on Dec. 15.
• The studio’s latest weekly patch did away with Marbles, the in-game path to Abstract XP, and began issuing pro-rata Expedition Pass refunds paid in VALOR.
• For now, players have nothing to do, and the studio promised to reveal next steps shortly.

Two days after Igloo Inc. revealed that Abstract — the chain powering its games — would go offline on Dec. 15, Onchain Heroes moved to reassure players that their Ringbearers, heroes and Maze of Gains keys are untouched.

“No action needed for now, and we’ll share next steps soon,” the studio wrote in its weekly patch notes on X, published Oct. 8.

Igloo, the company behind Pudgy Penguins PENGU $0.008034 ▼ -18.4%, announced on Oct. 6 that Abstract would be taken offline Dec. 15, warning that any funds not bridged off the chain by that date will become inaccessible.

Marbles retired

The biggest casualty is Marbles. The item served as players’ route to earning Abstract XP, and with the chain shutting down, that XP “no longer counts toward anything,” the studio explained. Runs, Treasure, Gems and the weekly prize pool all stay exactly as they were.

Mini Jackalot now rewards players on every takedown. “If Mini Jackalot doesn’t drop a Gem, he now drops 100 Treasure instead of leaving you empty-handed,” the studio said. Gem odds are unchanged, and defeating him still counts toward the weekly prize pool.

Expedition Pass holders with time still left on their pass can cancel via the “My Pass” menu to claim a refund. “The amount is pro-rata, so it’s based on how many days are left on your Pass,” the studio noted. All refunds are issued in VALOR.

This week’s numbers

Per the studio’s figures, players spun up 1,837 runs and burned 23,601 keys. The weekly prize pool reached $16,521, of which $4,971 went out in Gem payouts to players. The previous week’s thread recorded 5,908 runs, 80,735 keys burnt and a $56,515 pool.

A home chain going dark

Abstract is home to the whole Onchain Heroes franchise: the idle RPG organized around Genesis Hero NFTs and the HERO token, the Maze of Gains dungeon crawler, and VALOR, a dollar-pegged stablecoin purchased with USDC on the network. The chain launched its mainnet in January 2025 and had amassed more than 400,000 users and 144 apps by the time the shutdown was announced.

Luca Netz, Igloo’s CEO, said the company had bankrolled Abstract for 18 months and sunk tens of millions of dollars in the process. “Even after losing 8 figures, we could have launched a token or pursued an ICO. Ultimately we decided against this,” Netz wrote in an Oct. 6 post on X.

In its announcement, the Abstract team pointed to stagnant growth, thin liquidity, a restricted DeFi ecosystem and limited institutional adoption. It marks the second Ethereum layer 2 to disclose a shutdown within a week, following Blast’s Oct. 2 statement that its operating costs had outgrown its revenue.

Deeds already live elsewhere

One piece of the franchise has already moved beyond Abstract. Deeds, a utility NFT capped at 3,333 units and tied to the Yield Fields crossover, are minting on Robinhood Chain: a gated mint is set for Oct. 12, a public auction follows Oct. 13, and a reveal lands Oct. 19. Ringbearers and Genesis Ring holders have 1,000 guaranteed spots reserved, with a Ringbearer snapshot slated for Oct. 11.

The studio said players spent $5 million over Deed season, the September event that dangled 850 whitelist spots through Maze of Gains play.