Immutable argues gas fees pose significant barrier to onboarding mainstream gamers<\/p>\n
Immutable announced that its forthcoming gaming-focused Layer 2 network, Immutable zkEVM, will introduce fee-free experiences for web3 gamers.<\/p>\n
Announced on Dec. 12, Immutable said game developers building on its network can now abstract transaction fees away from players to improve user-experience. <\/p>\n
Immutable said it will \u201csponsor\u201d the gas fees of all users for a limited time following the zkEVM\u2019s mainnet launch in early 2024. Michael Powell, head of product marketing at\u00a0Immutable, told The Defiant that Immutable zkEVM’s mainnet will go live in January.<\/p>\n
Game developers will be able to sponsor the fees of gamers using Immutable Passport, Immutable\u2019s non-custodial web3 wallet. Immutable estimated gas fee sponsorship will incur costs of between $500 and $1,000 per 100,000 users for developers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith proper game economy design, Immutable believes gas sponsorship will increase player adoption, conversion, and overall revenue for game studios, far outweighing the cost of gas,\u201d the team said.<\/p>\n
The Immutable zkEVM Layer 2 rollup will leverage Polygon\u2019s technology to provide Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible transactions secured by zero-knowledge proofs. Immutable zkEVM\u2019s testnet<\/a> went live in August, and underwent a \u201cregenesis<\/a>\u201d to migrate clients from Polygon Edge to Geth on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n Powell said the testnet has hosted more than 15,000 transactions during the first two weeks of December.<\/p>\n Immutable\u2019s current Layer 2 network, Immutable X, ranks as the sixth-largest L2 by total value locked with $264M, according to L2beat.<\/p>\n The news comes as GameFi assets are staging a comeback after suffering brutal losses amid the 2022 bear trend, with the sector\u2019s combined capitalization rallying 83%<\/a> since Oct. 30, according to CoinGecko.<\/p>\n Immutable\u2019s IMX token is the sector\u2019s largest asset with a $2.5B market cap following an impressive rally in recent months. IMX is up 43% in the past week, 78% in the past 30 days, and 370% in 12 months. However, the token remains down 79% from its November 2021 all-time high.<\/p>\nGameFi rebounds<\/h2>\n
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