Unveiling the Future of NFT Gaming: Challenges, Solutions, and Collaborations

The expanding Crypto Unicorns ecosystem, founded in 2021, has been making waves with its core land-based building and battling experience, spinoff jousting, and party games. The project's NFTs have seen impressive trading volume, amounting to approximately $35 million to date. However, challenges have arisen for Laguna Games, the project's co-founder and CEO Aron Beierschmitt shared with Decrypt, particularly in operating a game on Polygon. The network gas spikes have led to increased operational costs and player friction, prompting Laguna Games to subsidize players' network gas fees, costing between $5,000 to $10,000 monthly.

Overcoming Challenges with Xai Network

• Xai, described as a layer 3 gaming network built on top of Arbitrum, an Ethereum layer 2 scaling network, offers players the advantage of avoiding such fees through a gas subsidy.
• Beierschmitt emphasized the importance of reducing friction while maintaining asset security, highlighting the numerous improvements expected with the migration of contracts to Xai.

Migration Plan and Collaboration

• Laguna Games is working diligently on an ASAP basis to finalize migration plans with Ex Populus, the game studio collaborating with the Xai Foundation and Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs on the Xai network.
• With over 25 smart contracts powering Crypto Unicorns NFTs and gameplay logic, Beierschmitt anticipates the largest migration in blockchain game history due to the extensive code to be ported to Xai.
• Expect a staged rollout with multiple migrations, potential airdrop announcements, and engaging activities along the way.

Publisher Support and Future Prospects

• Ex Populus, under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Tobias Batton, will provide marketing support for Laguna Games, resembling a publisher role in the partnership.

In the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain games, the collaboration between Laguna Games, Ex Populus, and the Xai network presents exciting prospects for the Crypto Unicorns ecosystem. The migration to Xai promises to address operational challenges and enhance the player experience, setting the stage for continued growth and innovation in the realm of NFT gaming.