Immutable Opens Early Access to its New zk-EVM Gaming Chain
With 260 gaming partners and major Web3 titles slated for release, Immutable is preparing for an active year ahead.
Immutable has officially announced the mainnet launch of its Immutable zk-EVM chain, powered by Polygon. This latest addition to Immutable’s suite of gaming-specific chains is designed to comprehensively address the needs of Web3 game developers.
The new blockchain is currently in its early access phase and is accessible to only a select group of partners. Nevertheless, the team has indicated that a full-scale launch is imminent, with over 260 partners already actively developing on the platform.
At its core, the Immutable zkEVM represents a specialized variant of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), engineered on a Layer 2 zk-rollup framework.
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Zero knowledge (zk) rollups are a scaling solution that enhance transaction throughput and reduce costs while leveraging the security of the Ethereum mainnet. The technology aggregates multiple transactions into a single proof, substantially easing the computational load on the main chain. The result is a more efficient, secure, and scalable blockchain ecosystem, particularly suited for applications with high transaction volumes.
A standout feature of the Immutable zkEVM chain is its emphasis on providing gas-free transactions for gamers. This initiative allows games and marketplaces on the Immutable platform to cover gas fees on behalf of users, ensuring a seamless gaming experience devoid of any transactional disruptions.
Our belief is that games should treat the cost of this sponsorship like their traditional server costs. Just as you wouldn’t expect players to cover their own AWS costs, games should sponsor gas fees to remove this friction…
The landscape of Web3 gaming infrastructure is highly competitive, with numerous projects vying for dominance and striving to offer compelling solutions to developers. Despite this fierce competition, Immutable has been gradually expanding its market share.
Analysis by Messari suggests that, in collaboration with Polygon, Immutable is at the forefront of on-chain gaming development, potentially commanding up to 70% of the market share, although exact figures are challenging to ascertain.
The platform’s growth is underscored by the anticipation surrounding several major titles slated for development on the Immutable zkEVM. Among these are the action role-playing game Guild of Guardians and the card-based strategy game Shardbound, both of which are launching in the first half of 2024. Additionally, the game MetalCore is set to debut on the platform within the same timeframe.
The year 2024 is poised to be a landmark year for gaming, as numerous titles that were previously in alpha or beta stages in 2022 and 2023 are gearing up for commercial release.
With a market capitalization exceeding $2.6 billion, Immutable stands as the largest GameFi project in the sector. The project’s market cap has surged by more than 170% over the past year, signaling a potentially bright future ahead, especially with the growing enthusiasm surrounding Web-3 gaming.
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