Immutable’s recent update to the Immutable zkEVM platform brings a breakthrough for developers, allowing them to create gaming experiences that eliminate the need for players to pay gas fees. This Zero-Knowledge (ZK) is proof-based platform for games, developed together Polygon Labsaims to improve the user experience and make onboarding for new players easier.
Overcoming gas tariff barriers
Historically, gas fees, essential to maintaining blockchain security and decentralization, have been a barrier to the widespread adoption of decentralized gaming. They have mainly been a roadblock for gamers switching from traditional platforms. For example, players must ensure that there is enough of the blockchain’s specific token to cover gas reimbursement costs. This requirement often takes gamers through several steps, such as bridging and swapping, to ensure they have the necessary funds for transactions, a potential turn-off for those new to web3 gaming.
With its latest move, Immutable is actively addressing this issue, with the aim of making the blockchain experience more user-friendly and accessible. Immutable’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, Alex Connolly, has highlighted this key challenge: “There are a number of standards in the blockchain space that mainstream players are simply not willing to accept – gas rates fall into that category. To truly appeal to all gamers, web3 games must be able to offer players a familiar and streamlined user experience, making the blockchain components as effortless and native as possible.”
Making gas costs invisible: the immutable zkEVM way
Immutable zkEVM, tailor-made for gaming and fully compatible with Ethereum’s virtual machine, allows developers to do away with gas fees. This makes them invisible to players and makes new games more accessible by removing the hurdle of gas costs for gamers.
Immutable zkEVM allows game developers to sponsor gas fees for Immutable Passport users, smoothing the onboarding process and encouraging transactions. At mainnet launch, Immutable will initially cover these costs across its ecosystem for a limited time.
Thanks to Immutable’s efforts to make Immutable zkEVM highly gas-efficient, the financial impact on game studios is minimal: they estimate it at $500-$1,000 for every 100,000 users. Unchangeable shows confidence that sponsoring gas costs, with the right game economy strategies, will significantly increase player engagement, conversion rates and studio revenue, ultimately offsetting gas costs.
Overall, Immutable zkEVM and its Immutable Passport are poised to change the Web3 gaming landscape, allowing developers to make gas costs invisible to players. By making gas sponsorship costs comparable to typical server or infrastructure expenses, games can adopt a model of digital asset ownership that is beneficial to players and game studios.