Powering Ethereum games with ‘Infinity Chains’

Lea Hogg February 10, 2024

SiGMA news

Powering Ethereum games with ‘Infinity Chains’

Treasure, a crypto gaming ecosystem, has made a significant decision to double down on its commitment to Arbitrum, despite receiving proposals from Optimism, zkSync, and SKALE teams to migrate to another Ethereum scaling network. Built on Arbitrum, Treasure currently spans 15 games and has announced plans to launch a Treasure Chain built on Arbitrum. This chain will use its existing MAGIC token to pay for gas and will feature a web of “Infinity Chains” that can power the various games being built around Treasure.

The proposed plan, which is yet to be approved by Treasure’s DAO, involves Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs building out the Treasure Chain. This custom Ethereum layer-2 scaling network will then enable game creators to deploy their own layer-3 Infinity Chains that orbit it. Karel Vuong, co-founder of Treasure, explained that this is an evolution of their vision at Treasure, with the history of being one of the earliest projects to build on Arbitrum. The natural next step for them was to launch towards their own chain, with the ambition to build a gaming and entertainment powerhouse that’s built and owned by everyone.

Why Treasure chose Arbitrum

While other games like Pixels, Pirate Nation, and Crypto Unicorns have hopped chains or made plans to do so in recent months, Treasure decided to stick with Arbitrum. Vuong pointed out the deficiencies they saw with rival proposals, whether it’s the technical makeup (in the case of Optimism) or a perceived lack of traction with users (as with zkSync). Arbitrum has specific functionality that Treasure needs, and they’ve built up a user base in that ecosystem. Furthermore, Treasure and Offchain Labs already have a bond, having been in the trenches together since the days where Arbitrum gaming was in its infancy.

Future of gaming on Arbitrum

Treasure’s rise helped kick-start the evolution of Arbitrum from being seen as a DeFi-focused environment to a platform for gaming. With a growing list of games including The Beacon, Mighty Action Heroes, and Kaiju Cards, Treasure has played a significant role in this shift. More recently, Arbitrum has seen the rise of Xai, a layer-3 gaming chain that held an airdrop in January and will begin rolling out games in the coming months.

Vuong and A.J. Warner, Chief Strategy Officer at Offchain Labs, both see potential for interoperability and collaboration across the Arbitrum gaming space. However, they’re still looking at the best ways to do it securely without compromising, as bridges between chains tend to be susceptible to attacks, as seen with the Ronin Network’s $622 million bridge exploit in 2022.

In conclusion, Treasure’s commitment to Arbitrum and its plans to launch a Treasure Chain built on Arbitrum signify a significant step in the evolution of the crypto gaming ecosystem. It not only underscores the potential of Arbitrum as a platform for gaming but also highlights the innovative approaches being taken to power Ethereum games with ‘Infinity Chains’.

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