A massive partnership has just occurred in the gaming world between two web3 giants. It will set the stage for blockchain gaming to finally reach its true form.

Here’s the situation:

Gamers have by now accepted the risks of losing their assets when companies close up shop, considering it an unfortunate but inescapable reality in the gaming world.

Similarly to how we don’t really own our data and identities in web2, gamers have never really owned any of the assets they’ve purchased inside the games.

That was the case for a long time, until blockchains came about. More specifically, NFTs. And NFTs changed everything, kind of.

They were promised to be the solution for bringing in-game asset ownership to the masses, tilting the balance of power in favor of the gamers.

But there was one problem, however. In-game assets as NFTs couldn’t scale due to the limited bandwidth of Layer-1 blockchains and the resulting high gas fees made it an impossible dream.

But necessity is the mother of innovation and so, years later, we have arrived at the perfect solution – Immutable zkEVM, the brain-child of a partnership between Polygon Labs and ImmutableX that could truly bring web3 gaming to the masses.

In short, it’s a highly scalable and customizable Layer-2 chain that empowers its users to build complex and fast applications and games without sacrifices.

It makes use of the best of Immutable and Polygon’s technologies, and combines them into a powerhouse of a chain.

Want to learn more about how Ethereum is scaling beyond its L1 limitations? Check out our recent PRO Report for more insights! Not a PRO member yet? Join us and become a PRO!

We know this phrase is thrown around a lot, but this innovation, paired with the right execution, has the potential to kickstart a new era in web3 gaming.

So let’s now explore the “Why?” of web3 gaming first, and how Immutable is leading the way.

Why Do Gamers Need Web3?

$150 billion

That’s how much gamers spend annually on in-game assets alone. The kicker? These are items that they don’t own, can’t trade, and have limited rights to.

This needs to change. In a world where we finally have technology that enables us to have ownership over digital assets such as money and identity, the same should happen for in-game items.

This is the premise on which the two Layer-2 giants, Immutable and Polygon, have built their partnership on.

After years of intense competition in the L2 space, they realized that what they should be fighting against are the incumbents of the game industry.

It was time to join forces in order to double down on the efforts to give rights to players to buy their assets, own them and sell them, and to create interoperable digital universes where they can feel creatively and financially empowered.

Why Do Game Companies Need Web3?

As much as we like to vilify the game development companies, the truth is that they’re not all that bad.

They’ve been building incredible games for decades, providing countless experiences that players have willingly spent billions of hours on.

However, the gaming industry is changing, and so are the demands of gamers.

Web3 enables game companies to offer true ownership of in-game assets, creating a more immersive and valuable experience for players.

This new level of ownership not only empowers gamers but also opens up new revenue streams for game developers.

With blockchains, game companies can create decentralized marketplaces for in-game items, allowing players to trade assets and even take them from one game to another.

This enhances the gaming experience and fosters a more dynamic and interconnected gaming ecosystem… and brings more royalties and fee revenues for the game developers!

Lastly, embracing web3 technology allows game companies to stay competitive, innovate, and differentiate themselves from traditional platforms, attracting a new generation of gamers who value digital ownership, transparency, and decentralization.

The Immutable & Polygon Web3 Playbook

Their playbook for bringing web3 mainstream has been straightforward for years.

It’s been to build fast, scalable and decentralized blockchain infrastructure that can be deployed on mass scale.

And in the meantime, invest in companies and projects building the next generation of web3-native apps, games and tools that leverage that infrastructure.

And the numbers don’t lie. They are the two largest funders in the web3 gaming space, with Immutable and Polygon having invested ~$1B each in the ecosystem in 2022 alone!

They are also the only ones who are really taking web3 gaming seriously on such a large scale.

They are making sure that not only the proper infrastructure is built, but also that sufficient funds are going into projects, and that partnerships between them and the biggest web2 companies are being forged.

And this last point is particularly important, as there’s no adoption without willing adopters that can kickstart a network effect.

As we’ve said before, you can’t just build a thing and expect everyone to jump on-board. You have to show competence, a track record, and, most importantly, build relationships.

The business development arms of both companies are incredibly strong, which is a rarity in this industry. They’ve been forging partnerships left and right, onboarding many large web2 brands and companies.

And now, with the announcement of their partnership and the rollout of Immutable’s innovative Layer-2, they have likely cracked the thick barrier separating them from the incumbent game companies.

Large, ossified, successful companies do not change easily. Because of their size, they need to be given hard evidence that this latest technology is worth its salt, and isn’t just hype.

What’s more, they need to see that these novel technologies have competent companies behind them that have a track record of success, and the business savvy and financial resources to facilitate the on-boarding of such massive companies onto their platforms.

Both Polygon and Immutable have excelled in this area.

The partnership bolsters trust in Immutable, enabling them to offer major game companies like Activision and Ubisoft a comprehensive solution for blockchain integration and proving it’s financially beneficial for them.

Game companies need Web3 to evolve with the changing landscape of gaming and to meet the growing demands of modern gamers.

Slowly, but surely they will all become web3-pilled, once they realize the full benefits of blockchains.

And Immutable is steadily paving the way towards this very future.