Axie Classic Season 16: last official season before community handoff
On August 10, 2026, Sky Mavis announced that Axie Classic Competitive Season 16 will open on August 12 as the last official competitive season under the current studio structure. The Season Leaderboard will run through September 2; Mini Tournaments will run through September 10. After that window, the studio will pause regular competitive seasons, halt active Classic feature development, and remove Classic quests from the daily Bounty Board while working toward handing direction to the community.
Background
Axie Classic is the original Axie Infinity card battler that defined early play-to-earn for millions of players. Day-to-day Axie play now centers on the wider Ronin slate, led live by Axie Infinity: Origins, with land loops in Terrariums and the upcoming MMO Atia’s Legacy still in testing.
Competitive Circuit 2 already framed Seasons 13–16 as a closed arc ending in a Classic Champions Invitational, per the Season 13 Lunacian post (opens in new tab). Season 16 is the final official push in that structure.
What happened
Season 16 schedule and rewards
BitPinas (opens in new tab) summarized the Axie Infinity Season 16 update on X (August 10, 2026) (opens in new tab). The Lunacian Season 16 notes (opens in new tab) match the same competitive window and spell out the reward pools:
| Window | Dates |
|---|---|
| Season Leaderboard | August 12 – September 2, 2026 (3 weeks) |
| Mini Tournaments | August 13 – September 10, 2026 (4 weeks) |
Season 16 puts over 36,000 bAXS on the table across guild and arena tracks, including 14,500 bAXS for the top 30 guilds and 4,500 bAXS for the Top 100 Arena players. A free Battle Pass will also pay gold, artifact copies, and up to 4,000 Dusts for competing.
Season 16 will feed two qualification slots into the Classic Champions Invitational, which carries a 5,000 bAXS prize pool. Season 15 Champion Chan and Arena leaderboard qualifier JL already hold invites; the remaining Season 15 Championship slot passed to runner-up Eshaz, leaving two Season 16 slots still open.
What ends after Season 16
Per the same Lunacian Season 16 notes (opens in new tab), once Season 16 and its Mini Tournaments wrap Sky Mavis will:
- Pause regular competitive seasons for Classic
- Halt active feature development under the current structure
- Remove Classic quests from the daily Bounty Board on September 10
The studio says it is working toward handing continued development and direction to the community. Exact governance, tooling, and reward structures were not settled at announce time. Treat those details as TBA until Sky Mavis or Axie publishes a follow-up.
Franchise context (not shutting down)
The Classic competitive wind-down is not a franchise shutdown. Coverage of the same week still points to live investment in Origins, Terrariums, and Atia’s Legacy testing. Soft context only: see prior Terrariums V1.1 notes for land loops; this article does not cover those ship calendars.
Who it affects
Classic competitors and scholars
If you still grind Classic for Bounty Board points or season leaderboards, treat September 10, 2026 as the end of the official Mini Tournament window and the cutoff for studio-backed Classic quests on the Board. Clear Season 16 goals between August 12 and that date. Afterward, expect prize pools and balance feedback to depend on guilds and third-party organizers unless a new official structure ships.
Origins and land players
Origins, Terrariums, and Atia’s Legacy testing remain the active Sky Mavis product lines called out beside this announce. The Classic handoff does not by itself pause Origins seasons or Terrariums Atia’s Flame loops.
Collectors and AXS / bAXS holders
Season rewards and invitational payouts cited here use bAXS. That does not change how you hold or trade AXS on Ronin. Watch official Axie channels for any post–Season 16 Classic reward rules; do not assume Bounty Board Classic quests continue after removal.
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Announcement | August 10, 2026 (Axie on X (opens in new tab); summarized by BitPinas (opens in new tab)) |
| Season 16 start | August 12, 2026 |
| Leaderboard end | September 2, 2026 |
| Mini Tournaments end | September 10, 2026 |
| Studio plan after S16 | Pause regular Classic seasons; halt active Classic feature work; remove Classic Bounty Board quests; community direction (details TBA) |
| Invitational | Classic Champions Invitational; 5,000 bAXS pool; two S16 qualifiers |
| S16 reward headline | Over 36,000 bAXS (Lunacian Season 16 (opens in new tab)) |
| Network | Ronin |
| Live franchise focus | Origins, Terrariums, Atia’s Legacy |
| Circuit framing | Season 13 Lunacian (opens in new tab) (S13–S16 → Invitational) |
On Web3Raider
Closest pages:
- Games hub: /games
- NFT hub: /nft
- Blockchain hub: /blockchain
- Related game: Axie Infinity: Origins
- Related: Ronin network · Ronin platform · AXS
- Related reading: Terrariums V1.1, Ronin L2 migration
What to watch next
- Official Axie Infinity (opens in new tab) / Lunacian blog (opens in new tab) posts for Season 16 reward claim steps and any written community-direction plan
- Whether Classic remains playable as a client after studio seasons pause (the announce frames a competitive and support wind-down, not an automatic client wipe on September 10)
- Origins and Atia’s Legacy schedules on official channels (separate from this Classic window)
- Ronin (opens in new tab) ecosystem notices if Bounty Board quest lists change for Classic
Bottom line: Plan Classic competitive goals for the August 12 – September 10 window, and assume studio Bounty Board Classic quests and regular seasons do not continue afterward unless Axie publishes a replacement program.
In this story
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Also: Axie Infinity: Origins, Ronin
