Gaming-centric Ethereum scaling network Immutable zkEVM has launched its testnet, crypto tech firm Immutable announced Monday, letting dozens of blockchain game studios start experimenting with the scaling solution ahead of the eventual mainnet rollout.
In simple terms, zkEVM networks can increase the number of processed transactions and provide additional privacy and security features compared to the main Ethereum network. The main Ethereum network doesn’t finalize transactions as quickly or cheaply as a zkEVM network, which bundles or “rolls up” multiple transactions into one without data being revealed.
Unlike the firm’s current Immutable X network, Immutable zkEVM is built on top of Polygon’s zkEVM technology via a partnership with Polygon Labs. Here’s a look at the biggest games that have announced plans to use the new Immutable zkEVM network.
MetalCore
MetalCore is a sci-fi shooter game that’s part first-person shooter (FPS) and part player-versus-environment (PVE) mech-fighting game, letting players go from being a ground troop to operating a massive robotic mech in seconds. The game is still in development, but will leverage the Immutable zkEVM network for its crypto transactions beginning with its closed beta kickoff event on September 15.
Shardbound
Immutable Games and game studio Bazooka Tango are resurrecting the fantasy player-versus-player (PVP) card auto battler title Shardbound as an NFT game. Years ago, Sharbound’s original indie developers at Spiritwalk Games encountered what Bazooka Tango’s CEO Bo Daly previously told Decrypt was “a little bit of a business problem.”
In March 2023, Immutable and Bazooka Tango announced that Shardbound would be brought back to life as a blockchain game, adding NFTs to an experience in which gamers use cards to strategically place characters on a map with hexagonal tiles. The game is still in development.
Medieval Empires
Medieval Empires is a strategy game whose developers announced earlier this month that the project will use Immutable’s zkEVM network, but have not specified exactly how just yet. The game plans to take a “play-and-own” approach to NFTs, where players are able to own the in-game items they find as they play.
The game is currently playable on MacOS and Windows PCs, and the game studio has already released a token called MEE and virtual land Polygon NFTs, with no announcements yet made regarding a potential migration. The studio is also selling “silver bundles,” which are quantities of a synthetic in-game currency that can be purchased with USDC stablecoin.
EF Defense
EF Defense is a mobile strategy game, and developer Weracle announced its plans to use the Immutable zkEVM network in July 2023. The play-to-earn tower defense game challenges players to stop dark forces from taking over the fantasy world called the Land of Abundance on the Akaros continent.
The Android and iOS game offers 70 different playable characters, and has already released Polygon NFTs of playable characters. Neither Weracle nor Immutable have yet specified how the game will use the zkEVM network.
Galaxy Commanders
Galaxy Commanders is an upcoming PVP mobile and PC sci-fi game that announced plans to use the Immutable zkEVM network in July 2023. In the game, players will be able to own in-game battleships as NFTs, fight in an epic space opera setting, and complete various quests. The game will use its own cryptocurrency, Dimensium.