News Report:
Mechanical Shooting Game “MetalCore” to Migrate to Solana’s Immutable zkEVM
Game developer Studio 369 announced on Thursday that their game “MetalCore” will be migrating to Solana’s second-layer gaming network Immutable zkEVM in November, coinciding with the start of the game’s second season.
Studio 369 cited Solana’s “excellence” in processing a large number of transactions and its continuously evolving ecosystem as the reason for this move.
Matt Candler, President and CEO of Studio 369, stated, “Solana continues to demonstrate impressive growth and stability, capable of handling billions of dollars in transactions while maintaining 99.95% uptime.”
He also referenced other Solana games such as “Star Atlas” and “Aurory” to imply “countless opportunities for cross-promotion and collaboration.”
Image: Studio 369
Originally scheduled for a late 2023 release, MetalCore focused on Ethereum’s second layer, Immutable zkEVM. However, the mainnet of this network was delayed, leading Studio 369 to downsize its team. Candler previously stated that the zkEVM mainnet delay in March “prevents us from commenting further on our situation.”
In March, the studio announced another $5 million raise to aid in launching the game following the unexpected network delay. The game entered its public beta phase in September through the Epic Games Store, accompanied by the release of MCG tokens and numerous NFTs on the Immutable zkEVM chain.
When asked about the team’s experience with Ethereum’s scaling solutions, Studio 369 declined to comment.
Candler told reporters, “After release, we saw a lot of positive traction and feedback.”
“Our first season was very successful, with strong KPIs indicating a healthy in-game economy. We also saw interest from non-crypto native users, who purchased assets worth over $100,000 through Web2 stores.”
Image: Studio 369
In addition to the beta version, MetalCore’s first game season, called “MetalPunks Rhapsody,” started in September, introducing new features while upgrading the game to Unreal Engine 5, providing various performance and visual enhancements.
Furthermore, the update reduced the level of cryptocurrency knowledge required to participate in the game, such as no longer needing to create a wallet. The upcoming migration will also see MetalCore utilizing Solana Labs’ GameShift platform, which aims to reduce friction related to cryptocurrencies for users engaging in the game economy.
While an official date is yet to be determined, Studio 369 expects to launch on Solana sometime in November, simultaneously starting the second season. When this occurs, players will need to migrate their NFTs and tokens from Immutable zkEVM to Solana, with more details to be provided before the migration.
Editor: Andrew Hayward
