Interpreting Animoca's New Chess Game: Insights into the "Inventory Activation" Strategy of Web3 Giants from the TOWER Buyback

Just today, on August 5, 2025, a brief statement released by Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Brands, on the X platform has created ripples in the Web3 gaming space like a stone tossed into a still lake. He announced that Animoca Brands will "publicly commit to supporting the Tower ecosystem" and will initiate a secondary market buyback of the TOWER Token.

The market's reaction is quite subtle: Who is TOWER? A token that seems to still be lingering in the memories of 2021. Why has it been dug out and polished by Animoca, a Web3 giant, in today's 2025? Is this merely a routine support for its "favorite child" or is it a well-considered strategic signal from Animoca Brands against the backdrop of the entire GameFi sector seemingly missing the previous bull market?

The answer is much more complex than a simple token buyback.

Deconstructing TOWER: A Web3 "Living Fossil"

To understand Yat Siu's motivations, we must first turn the clock back. The TOWER Token and its ecosystem are a mirror reflecting the evolution of the GameFi sector, and can even be referred to as a "living fossil". It was born in early 2021, during the hottest era of the Play-to-Earn (P2E) concept. Animoca Brands' vision was highly forward-looking: to bridge its already market-validated free-to-play mobile games, such as "Crazy Kings" and "Crazy Defense Heroes", which have millions of downloads, with the token economy of Web3.

The core of this model is not to create a brand new on-chain game with the sole purpose of "earning," but rather to add a layer of value to an already successful gaming experience. Players in "Crazy Defense Heroes" fight hard not just for virtual points and badges, but to earn ERC-20 Tokens—TOWER—that circulate on-chain by achieving a certain monthly in-game experience points (XP) target. These tokens can be exchanged on its official website for exclusive game NFTs or to participate in special events, forming a complete "play-earn-use" economic closed loop.

However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is harsh. With the arrival of the 2022 crypto bear market and the collective collapse of the first generation P2E model, TOWER was no exception. Its Token price plummeted from a historical high of about $0.14, dropping more than 99%, and its market value once shrank to less than $2 million. Like most GameFi projects of that era, it was quickly forgotten by the market after a brief period of glory, quietly lying deep in the wallets of countless users. The initial Token distribution of this project (total supply of 10 billion, with 30% allocated for the P2E reward pool, 15% for marketing, and 15% held by the team) seemed to be an industry standard configuration at the time, but in a market with depleted liquidity, all of this appeared so powerless.

Motivation Exploration: Yat Siu's "Standard Operating Procedure" and Value Philosophy

If TOWER is just a failed yesterday's flower, then Animoca's actions today seem utterly unreasonable. But the key clue is hidden in a precedent cited in Yat Siu's statement — he specifically mentioned in a tweet, "As we stated earlier this year regarding the CTA."

The "CTA" here refers to another Web3 game project "Cross the Ages". Just two months ago, in June 2025, Animoca Brands publicly stated when announcing a strategic partnership with it that they would "purchase CTA tokens from the Secondary Market". The reason given at the time by the official was that Animoca aims to support those ecological partners that they believe are "severely undervalued" and "committed to developing high-quality Web3 games".

Applying this logic to TOWER, Yat Siu's intentions become clear. As of the statement's release, the total market capitalization of the TOWER Token was only about 1.4 million USD. What does this concept mean? For a token project backed by a mature game series with tens of millions of downloads that is still operating steadily, this valuation is disproportionately low. Animoca Brands entering the market to buy back not only has a very low cost but also conveys a strong message to the market in the most direct way: we believe it is undervalued, and we trust its intrinsic value.

This is not a spur-of-the-moment "pump", but more like a "standard operation" of Animoca Brands' investment philosophy. Rather than seeking new investment targets externally, it is better to turn back and activate those assets within its vast investment portfolio that have a solid foundation but are temporarily neglected. This is an extremely shrewd "portfolio investment management" strategy, just expressed in the form of public market operations.

Reflections on the "Lost Bull Market" of GameFi and Its Path

Yat Siu's actions coincidentally occurred at a somewhat awkward time for GameFi. Looking back at the more than a year-long bull market, DePIN, AI, the Solana ecosystem, and various Memecoins have all taken turns showcasing wealth myths, but the GameFi sector has had a rather mediocre overall performance, with only a few leading projects experiencing occasional fluctuations, seemingly forgotten by mainstream narratives.

The reason lies in the deep "aftereffects" left by the first generation of GameFi. Represented by the early model of Axie Infinity, the design that placed "Earn" above "Play" led to a large number of "game miners" whose sole purpose was to farm profits. Its spiraling token model was proven unsustainable during market downturns. The fragility of this model has created a trust deficit in the entire industry towards GameFi. Investors and players are asking: Are we really "playing games" or are we "playing a Ponzi scheme"?

The model of TOWER, viewed today, actually provides a different approach to solving problems. Its game itself - "Crazy Defense Heroes" - is primarily a fun, high-quality F2P game that attracts and retains players based on its own merits. The TOWER Token is an added layer of rewards, rather than the cornerstone upon which the game is built. This concept of "Play-and-Earn" instead of "Play-to-Earn" is increasingly seen by more people as a healthier and more sustainable direction for development.

Gala Games is also engaging in reflection and iteration. Facing token inflation pressure, Gala decisively executed a large-scale token burn in 2023 and turned to its self-developed GalaChain, attempting to fundamentally optimize its economic ecosystem. These cases indicate that the GameFi sector has not perished; it is merely undergoing a profound and necessary collective reflection and internal reconstruction.

From "Incremental Expansion" to "Stock Activation": Animoca's New Game Board

Connecting all the clues together, a clear picture of Animoca Brands' future strategy emerges. As one of the largest investment empires in the Web3 space, Animoca has hundreds of investment projects and subsidiaries under its umbrella. After experiencing a rapid phase of "land grabbing" and pursuing extensive incremental expansion over the past few years, its strategic focus seems to be quietly shifting.

The new chess game is "activation of existing stock"—that is, deeply exploring and activating the potential value within its large investment portfolio. The TOWER project is undoubtedly a perfect "pawn" in this new chess game. It has a successful game IP, a large existing player base, a fully functional Token system, and a price that is extremely undervalued by the market. Initiating a buyback is like a lever that moves a thousand pounds with just a few ounces, drawing market attention with minimal cost, soothing the existing community, and conveying a message to all other projects in the ecosystem: the parent company will provide tangible support at critical moments. This is nothing less than a precise "internal targeted stimulus plan."

Interestingly, in our research of the TOWER ecosystem, we did not find a clear, forward-looking long-term development roadmap. This seems somewhat unconventional in the crypto world, which often pursues the ability to "make promises without substance." However, this may also be part of Animoca's new strategy: saying goodbye to rigid, grand long-term commitments, and instead adopting more agile and opportunistic tactical interventions. A token buyback, a collaboration with new partners, a carefully designed in-game event—these pragmatic measures may bring more actual value than a flashy PDF document.

In summary, Yat Siu's statement about TOWER signifies far more than a simple financial operation. It is both a profound response to the current challenges in the GameFi development and an inevitable reflection on the market's transition from frenzy to maturity, as well as a significant move made by Animoca Brands, a player in the Web3 chess game, during the mid-game phase.

GameFi may have missed the last grand ball, but stewards like Animoca Brands clearly have not abandoned ship. What they are doing is returning to the engine room, carefully inspecting every engine component, polishing those dusty "heirlooms" to prepare for a completely different voyage ahead. This new journey will no longer rely on speculative bubbles but will be built on sustainable economic models and real value validated by the market. Yat Siu's signal not only pertains to the future of TOWER but also quietly and firmly tells the entire industry: the game is far from over.