The Gamers Guide to Immutable zkEVM

Layer 2 blockchains continue to gather a larger share of the web3 gaming scene. One of those layer 2 options, Immutable zkEVM, has seen a rapid surge in adoption as numerous games have recently migrated, taking advantage of the Immutable Passport for player login and wallet management, and the cheap network fees.

What is Immutable zkEVM?

Immutable zkEVM is a layer 2, gaming focused blockchain built on Ethereum. It was created by Immutable, who also run Immutable X, which is a different chain (just to make things a little more confusing).

Immutable zkEVM is billed as a gaming blockchain, with a focus on providing tools and services for developers while building a seamless, easy to use interface for players.

Immutable X was their first stab at this concept, but Immutable zkEVM takes it to the next level with Ethereum smart contract compatibility – something not available on Immutable X.

But the important thing to know here is that most game developers will want to build on the Immutable zkEVM network moving forward. And for this article we’re focused on the Immutable zkEVM network. We’ll have a guide soon that goes into more details about the entire Immutable ecosystem.

The concept of zkEVM is hot in the blockchain world these days, with many different chains implementing their own versions. So what does this crazy acronym mean, anyway? There are two basic parts, so let’s break it down.

EVM

We’ll start at the end with EVM. EVM stands for Ethereum Virtual Machine. Basically, this means that the blockchain can run smart contracts that are on the Ethereum blockchain. In short, it just means that the layer 2 blockchain is compatible with Ethereum contracts, and those contracts can be easily modified and used on the EVM network.

Zk

The zk part of zkEVM stands for zero-knowledge, or more specifically, zero-knowledge proofs. This is a web3 tech concept that gives users the ability to prove they have certain knowledge, without revealing the details of that knowledge.

A simple analogy for zero-knowledge proofs I saw recently went somethig like this:

Imagine you know where a treasure is buried, and you want to prove you know, but without telling anyone where it is. To do that you could take a time-stamped photo of you with the treasure. Now, of course, we all know by now that photos can be edited, but with blockchain support, we can independently verify that the proof is real and unaltered. So now you have proof that you know where the treasure is, but you haven’t revealed the location of that treasure. And since you don’t have to reveal all of the information, you get the advantage of privacy, and smaller packet size.

So what does this all mean? In short, this means that transactions costs are extremely low of zkEVM chains, and developers who are already familiar with Solidity and Ethereum smart contracts will have an easy time building and/or importing code onto a zkEVM network.

Gaming on Immutable zkEVM

The gaming ecosystem on Immutable zkEVM has grown quickly in the last couple of months, and don’t be surprised to see the number of game launches on this gaming-centric network increase dramatically in the future!

Immutable zkEVM is fully compatible with the Immutable Passport, giving players a single login point to access numerous games and services on the network. The Passport also functions as a wallet for tokens and NFTs.

Here are a few of the games available to play right now on Immutable zkEVM!

Guild of Guardians

Guild of Guardians launched on Immutable zkEVM in May of 2024, becoming the first live game to fully utilize the Immutable Passport. Guild of Guardians is a free to play, auto-battling, dungeon crawler game that offers play and earn opportunities for dedicated players.

Hunters On-Chain

Hunters On-Chain is another free to play, play and earn game. They launched in June of 2024 with a huge play to airdrop campaign (that may still be ongoing!)

In Hunters On-Chain, players engage in PvE and PvP contests with a variety of fantastical characters to win BGEM, a game currency that can be used to purchase chests with various rewards, including NFTs, and BOOM, a premium game currency needed to level up characters.

With Immutable zkEVM and Immutable Passport, Hunters On-chain is able to easily deliver all rewards, tokens, and NFTs, directly into the players’ wallets without the need for any transaction fees from the players, nor even the need to sign a transaction. They just appear in your wallet like magic!

And this is really one of the goals of the entire Immutable ecosystem – to make web3 gaming as easy and seamless as possible for the players.

More

Of course, this isn’t all of the games. Space Nation Online just held a mint for Crew NFTs on Immutable zkEVM, and there are many more making the move as well!

Paradise Tycoon - Farm, build, and earn in this game about fixing up your very own, personal, tropical island! Pick up a Paradise Pass on the Sphere marketplace for extra earning potential

MetalCore - Sci-fi, FPS focusing on PvP. Play as your Infantry NFT in-game and use their MCG token to craft gear.

Just to name a few!

Getting Started with Immutable zkEVM

You can sign onto the Immutable zkEVM network with an Immutable Passport or with a wallet, such as Metamask, that supports layer 2 Ethereum chains.

Your wallet may already have automatic settings for Immutable zkEVM. But if it doesn’t, here are the network details

Name: Immutable zkEVM
RPC Endpoint: https://rpc.immutable.com
Chain ID: 13371
Native currency: IMX
Block Explorer: https://explorer.immutable.com

Login options vary from game to game, but the Immutable Passport is pretty much universally accepted across all apps on the Immutable zkEVM chain.

Getting an Immutable Passport is free, and you can sign in with an email address, Google login, or Apple login.  Creating a Passport also auto-creates a wallet address for you. Head over to https://passport.immutable.com/ to get started.

You won’t need any funds to play games on the network. One of the selling points of Immutable zkEVM that transactions are gas free for players! But if you want to make any purchases on Sphere (currently the only market on Immutable zkEVM), then you will need some IMX tokens.

These can be acquired through bridging, buying, or swapping.

The official Immutable Bridge https://toolkit.immutable.com/bridge/ offers a limited, though growing number of options for bridging funds onto the Immutable zkEVM network. You can also check third-party bridge services, some of which offer more options.

You can purchase tokens directly through the Immutable Toolkit or the Passport dashboard with a credit card, Google Pay or Apple Pay.

Immutable also offers a swap feature on their toolkit page, though it isn’t available in all regions. However, you can also visit Quickswap to exchange tokens on the Immutable zkEVM network.

NFTs on Immutable zkEVM can be bought and sold through the Sphere marketplace, with transactions settled with IMX tokens.

Games with NFTs on other networks either already have a migration portal open, or have plans to open one in the near future. Check their individual social channels for more information on that.

Closing Thoughts

The Immutable zkEVM network is hot, and for good reason! And even if the current selection of games isn't to your liking, it can't hurt to go ahead and pick up an Immutable Passport. Because there will certainly be a lot more games in the future using it and the Immutable zkEVM network.

In addition, with an Immutable Passport, you can claim one ‘Gem’ a day (more if you also hold IMX tokens). What are these Gems for? We don't know yet, but the Immutable team has hinted that they will be important at some point in the future!