Fractal, a blockchain gaming platform previously exclusive to Solana, has announced that it’s opening up to Ethereum and that other blockchains are on the horizon!
Fractal is a firm favorite around these parts. I have made it no secret that I like the platform and I believe it can facilitate growth in the sector. Co-founder, Justin Kan, has had games industry-affecting success with Justin.tv, which became Twitch.tv. This platform not only launched streaming, but has become a tastemaker for games. Fractal, at least in theory, could have a similar impact to Web3 gaming.
For the uninitiated, Fractal is a blockchain gaming platform that most closely resembles Steam, though if I see the phrase “Web3 Steam”, I will maim the next passerby. Blockchain games are listed and playable on the platform, there is a built-in marketplace for NFTs, and their Fractal wallet too. In addition to these pillars, there are tournaments (like the recent Halloween Ev.io cup with a $10,000 prize pool) and a recently-announced Developer Hub for onboarding more game developers.
Despite by admiration for Justin Kan and my belief in Fractal, I had one criticism that I raised both in articles and on the podcast: the exclusivity to Solana felt like a mistake. I have nothing against Solana and it’s a chain I use; their outages and bad press don’t even particularly concern me. However, there are a plethora of layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains specializing in gaming, and to miss out on games on the likes of Polygon, IMX, and WAX, felt a waste.
Fractal wants to help game developers go multichain, but without the technical and logistics headache. Historically, Fractal has offered support for Solana exclusively. This narrow focus has allowed us to refine and build out our product suite. We’ve achieved amazing success on Solana ($20m+ in sales across 50 of the best games and strongest communities in crypto). Now, Fractal is ready to expand to chains beyond Solana, starting with Ethereum L1.
Today, 1st November 2022, Fractal has announced the integration of Ethereum into its platform, offering developer APIs for it too, and inducting some Ethereum games immediately. Furthermore, they have committed to supporting more EVM chains in the near future.
There are a number of key Ethereum launch partners, with tournaments starting immediately:
I’m particularly pleased to see Undead Blocks and Supremacy in that list, but also that the marketplace will cater for Metalcore too.
I believe this will be a seminal moment for Fractal — possibly Web3 gaming as a whole — and it overcomes what I saw as the platform’s primary point of friction.
