Hey guys I've been working closely with Dave and the team to explore opportunities to better align incentives between the company and DAO while also ensuring that the team's funding needs are met. Dave and I did an episode of People's Guild discussing this topic last night and it should be going live today. We'll also be hosting a DAOn Hall on Friday to answer questions and discuss this proposal with the community before it goes to an official vote.

Here's the current draft so that anyone who would like examine it or ask questions before it goes to a vote can do so:

SPS Governance Proposal - Contract Steem Monsters Corp for Ongoing Maintenance and Development

About

The purpose of this proposal is to explore whether the SPS DAO should enter into an agreement to hire Steem Monsters Corp for the ongoing maintenance and development of the Splinterlands game. This arrangement aims to ensure continued innovation and support for the ecosystem while providing the SPS DAO Foundation with full co-ownership of the Splinterlands intellectual property (IP). Initial discussions among stakeholders have shown interest in formalizing this partnership to drive long-term growth and sustainability.

Proposal

If this proposal passes, the SPS DAO will enter into the following agreement with Steem Monsters Corp:

• The SPS DAO will pay $2m per year which is a flat daily rate of $5500 per day for a period of 2 years for ongoing maintenance and development services.

  • The DAO Treasurers will make monthly payments in HBD then DEC.
  • While unlikely, if necessary, the SPS DAO Project Manager will work with the SPS DAO Treasurers to determine which tokens are used for payment if the SPS DAO coffers have been depleted of DEC. This may include paying in other tokens, such as HIVE, Ethereum or could require burning SPS to create the DEC needed to pay Steem Monsters Corp.
  • In cases where non-Splinterlands assets are used, Steem Monsters Corp will value those tokens at market value at the time of receipt.
  • In cases where DEC tokens are used for payments, then the price will be determined on a daily basis. For convenience the DAO may prepay a large amount of DEC tokens, however the daily rate the DEC tokens convert to USDs will be based on the daily rate of DEC/USD for each day.

• In return, Steem Monsters Corp will assign full co-ownership of the Splinterlands Intellectual Property to the SPS DAO Foundation. See full agreement here (link to separate agreement will be added after approved by legal)

• Steem Monsters Corp will be responsible for developing:

  • A new core set.
  • A reward card set.
  • A miniset.
  • Continued development of land features.
  • Multiple new game modes and features.
  • Other items as requested by the DAO, such as promo cards, card skins, and additional features, subject to available development bandwidth.

• Revenue sharing: The SPS DAO will receive 100% of all proceeds from sales within the game's ecosystem, excluding burns, until it has recovered its initial investment plus 20%. After that threshold is met, any additional sales proceeds will be split 50/50 between Steem Monsters Corp and the SPS DAO.

Notes

This proposal is designed to align incentives between the SPS DAO and Steem Monsters Corp, ensuring dedicated development resources while securing IP ownership for the DAO. Potential benefits include accelerated feature releases, enhanced player engagement, and long-term revenue potential. Risks may include dependency on Steem Monsters Corp's performance and market fluctuations affecting sales proceeds.