Immutable in the Encryption Winter: Continuously Building Game Infrastructure

This report was written by Xangle, translated and jointly published by PANews.

For a game, the entertainment it can provide is as important as the advanced infrastructure. The gaming industry is constantly striving to keep pace with technological advancements and to maximize growth within the constraints of available resources. The same is true for blockchain games, a vertical that has been continuously improving user-friendliness through technological advancements. These efforts manifest themselves in protocol-level enhancements (such as scalability and security) and platform-level enhancements (such as wallets and marketplaces). Especially when people saw the popularity of the Ethereum-based chain game CryptoKittie, which caused severe congestion in Ethereum at the end of 2017, developers began to pay attention to the scalability challenge and seek more scalable alternatives, thus giving birth to A game infrastructure project like Immutable.

Immutable is the leading Web3 game project in the industry. The platform simplifies the creation process of Web3 games through pre-built solutions. After the mainnet launch in April 2021, the data performance of games such as "Gods Unchained" and "Illuvium" released on the Immutable platform has remained at a relatively high level. Immutable's growth is evident with a series of partnerships with major Web2 entertainment companies, most notably Gamestop, Disney and Tik Tok. In 2022, most of the blockchain game funds will flow to Ethereum, Immutable and Polygon, and it is clear that crypto venture capital and game developers have placed heavy bets on Immutable.

So why are Web2 and Web3 companies leaning toward Immutable? Developer interviews revealed the advantages that attracted them to the platform. In this article, we'll take a look at Immutable's strengths and briefly explore how its recent developments will shape its ecosystem in the years to come.

**Why Game Developers Choose Immutable? **

What makes Immutable the first choice for game developers? Immutable launched in April 2021 as an Ethereum-based NFT minting/trading zk-rollup protocol. It uses Starkware's ZK-STARK technology to provide high scalability of over 9,000 TPS, strong security, and integrated cross-game liquidity.

Advantage 1: High scalability, zero Gas NFT casting and trading

Immutable aims to solve the major challenges plaguing the Ethereum NFT ecosystem. Only 3-5 NFT transactions can be processed per second on Ethereum, and NFT fees are particularly high. Immutable takes a different approach, charging no gas fees for the issuance and trading of NFTs. It achieves high scalability of more than 9,000 TPS through zkRollup, which is much higher than other mainnets, which lays the foundation for it to adapt to the higher transaction volume that more gamers may bring in the future.

Game developers are keen to ensure smooth transaction processing, especially when large numbers of players join. Immutable's scalability becomes a huge advantage in this regard. In addition, there is no gas requirement for NFT transactions on Immutable, which simplifies the entry process for players who are not familiar with Web3 transactions. In fact, many game developers who have chosen Immutable (such as Ember Sword and Deviant Faction) cite its scalability, gas-free NFT transactions, and improved user experience as the platform's top advantages.

Advantage 2: Strong security of ZK Rollup

The security of ZK Rollup may also have caught the attention of game developers. Some gaming projects have chosen to launch their own blockchains or sidechains as a means of enforcing the scalability limits of Ethereum. However, these alternatives do not inherit the security of Ethereum, which makes them less secure and less decentralized than Ethereum. Independent blockchains or sidechains usually use cross-chain bridges to transfer assets to Ethereum, but after a series of vulnerabilities were exploited, security issues were raised. Axie Infinity's Ronin sidechain is a prime example. In March 2022, the Ronin Bridge connecting the Ronin Chain to Ethereum was hacked and over $600 million was stolen. The price of AXS also plummeted from $64 to $17, plummeting more than 73%, dealing a major blow to the ecosystem. Unlike Web 2 games, Web 3 games allow users to own and trade their game assets, which makes safekeeping of user assets an urgent need.

Immutable is confident in the network effects of the Ethereum ecosystem. Rather than launching its own blockchain or sidechains to enhance scalability, the company built the platform around zkRollup technology, inheriting the security of Ethereum. Unlike Optimistic Rollup, which takes 1-2 weeks to withdraw, zkRollup uses proof of validity to achieve instant withdrawal. Therefore, game developers looking to connect to the Ethereum ecosystem while looking for a scalable solution tend to use Immutable, which fits the bill.

Advantage 3: Agreement order book integration liquidity

As the technology advances, other new chains with high scalability and security like Immutable may emerge. Still, even with the advent of more advanced technology, users are unlikely to switch from one chain to another unless there is a particular advantage. This is due to network effects. The effect is more pronounced as more users join. This underscores the importance of initial user onboarding, which Immutable has demonstrated with the launch of proprietary titles such as Gods Unchained.

Immutable also provides integrated liquidity across games by introducing order book functionality built at the protocol level. This feature allows players’ orders to buy or sell assets on one NFT marketplace to be listed on all NFT marketplaces powered by Immutable. These marketplaces span the US and Canada and include US video game retailer GameStop's NFT marketplace, as well as a marketplace for games registered on Immutable. Listing NFTs from newly launched games on the existing game NFT marketplace is a powerful marketing advantage as it significantly increases their exposure. This fluid integration across games is particularly attractive to new developers.

Gaming NFT trading volume and revenue doubled year-over-year in 2022 thanks to protocol order books. As the ecosystem grows, the ensuing network effects are expected to further facilitate liquidity integration.

Immutable's Evolving Ecosystem

Data on the chain shows active platform activities

Based on the aforementioned strengths, Immutable has launched games such as Gods Unchained and Illuvium, both of which generate steady revenue. Immutable's revenue fell sharply in the second quarter of 2022 after hitting about $1 million in December 2021, but has since recovered, generating $500,000 in revenue over the past year. Since Immutable recognizes 2% of NFT trading volume as revenue, this also indicates a high level of activity on the Immutable platform.

Since the launch of the IMX token, both the trading volume and the number of holders have grown steadily. Notably, the surge in trading volumes coincided with the launch of high-profile games or NFTs and brought new holders to the platform. The most recent spike in deals occurred on July 31, when RPG game Ember Sword launched its Alpha Land Sale. Ember Sword has attracted a lot of attention, with 12,000 players from more than 50 countries participating in the alpha game test alone.

In addition to Ember Sword, the Web3 game Cross the Ages is also very popular in Web2. It once ranked first in the French App Store strategy game and remained in the top 5 for more than 4 consecutive weeks. Immutable is constantly launching fun games that bring new users into the ecosystem.

More than 150 games are live

The above-mentioned advantages are conducive to bringing many games to its platform, and Immutable is also developing Web3 games itself. In addition to Web3 games, Immutable also cooperates with leading Web2 companies such as GameStop, Warner Games, iLogos and Mineloader to introduce Web2 games to the platform. These additions include IMVU with 7 million monthly active users, Cross the Age, which holds the No. 1 spot on the App Store, Undead Block, Kiraverse (beta), Aglet, and Immortal Game.

There are more than 150 games in the ecosystem, covering a wide range of game types, including RPG, FPS and other genres.

**Continuous **build in crypto winter

Even amidst the crypto winter, Immutable is actively developing new products and announced a partnership with Polygon to develop an EVM-compatible zkEVM. Immutable is also working on improving the user UI/UX, which is also an ongoing obstacle to the mass adoption of Web 3 games.

Introduce game specific zkEVM to enhance connection with Ethereum

In March 2023, Immutable announced its intention to develop a second game scaling solution, Immutable zkEVM, while continuing to develop the existing starkware-based Immutable zk rollup. zkEVM is a rollup technology that uses zero-knowledge proofs to ensure strong EVM compatibility. zkEVM enables developers to seamlessly build games on Ethereum without extensive code modifications. Immutable's zkEVM is a professional solution tailored for game development, offering unique features not found in other zkEVM solutions, including on-chain royalty collection.

Currently, over 90% of DeFi TVL is generated by the EVM ecosystem, and there are more Ethereum developers in the Web3 ecosystem than any other mainnet. With the release of zkEVM, the addition of the Ethereum ecosystem is expected to further enhance the Immutable ecosystem.

More than 7 projects have announced plans to build games based on zkEVM. These include games developed by MagmaByte, which has 15-20 years of game development experience, and Weracle, known for games such as Endless Frontier and Metal Slug, which have accumulated more than 35 million downloads.

Optimized game user solution

Improving technology at the protocol level is only part of the equation to ensure the success of Web 3 gaming. Equally important is a familiar and enjoyable user experience for Web 3 gamers. Immutable not only continues the development of the aforementioned blockchain protocol, but also develops a series of products that may provide a Web2-like user experience. Key features in this area include wallet infrastructure Passport and payment solution Checkout. The Global Orderbook function is similar to the integrated liquidity described above and is also part of the Immutable product.

Immutable Passport: wallet solution optimized for gaming experience

Immutable is preparing to launch Immutable Passport, a solution to current wallet-related challenges and enable a better gaming experience, Immutable Passport, currently in beta, supports passwordless login and automatically generates a wallet when the user starts playing the game , which greatly simplifies the user login process. Users can also trade cryptocurrencies across all markets and games using a single Immutable Passport wallet.

Checkout: Provide users with a seamless trading experience

In order to create a payment method familiar to mainstream gamers, Immutable will launch Checkout, an integrated payment solution. Checkout provides a user-friendly interface where users can link their wallets, manage balances and bridge their assets. Immutable supports various payment methods in more than 100 countries around the world, and is committed to simplifying the interaction of global players on the platform.

Immutable's future plans include developing Smart Checkout, an automated feature that analyzes users' wallet balances and transaction requests. If the user's wallet balance cannot pay the gas fee or purchase, Smart Checkout will automatically guide the user to enter, exchange or bridge to ensure the safety of funds. This automated system will pre-process tasks, allowing users to purchase specific assets without manually managing funds.

The launch of zkEVM is expected to expand the ecosystem

With its high scalability, strong security, gas-free NFT minting and trading, and integrated cross-game liquidity, Immutable has successfully introduced numerous games to its platform. Currently, more than 150 games of different genres are being built within the ecosystem.

The excellence of a game is not only about the content, but also the infrastructure that facilitates the enjoyment of the content. As evidenced by the release of zkEVM, Immutable has been hard at work on product development even in the midst of the cryptocurrency winter. This new development will give another boost to the Immutable ecosystem. Unlike the current Immutable protocol, non-EVM compatibility hinders the import of Ethereum Solidity code, thereby hindering the expansion of the ecosystem, the introduction of zkEVM aims to solve this limitation and allow Ethereum developers to seamlessly use Immutable's zkEVM Deploy the game. With the continuous influx of users, the release of zkEVM will bring more games to the ecosystem, once again promoting the long-term development of the platform.