Why popular games will be developed based on modular application chains

By Jack O’Holleran, Coindesk; Translated by Tao Zhu, Golden Finance

The AAA gaming sector is huge (“AAA” refers to the biggest games made by the biggest developers). Specifically, it’s bigger than the film and music industries combined—almost 300% bigger. The stories are better and more powerful, and the overall experience is more satisfying and richer.

A great example is the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 trailer, which has been viewed more than 184 million times since December. Massive games like GTA have firmly established themselves as gaming phenomena and cultural and economic powerhouses in the entertainment industry.

Take Bethesda Game Studios, for example. From Fallout 4 to Starfield, the number of developers behind each game has increased by 266%. From big-budget AAA console games to massive mobile virality, the esports industry is growing in tandem, with streamers on YouTube and Twitch leading a revolution in content consumption. The esports audience has grown to over 640 million, up over 140% since 2019. The entertainment diversity of gaming spans all mediums.

How Web3 Can Change the Game

Adding Web3 technology to the stack will transform AAA economic models, opening up the market to global gamers and enthusiasts who watch more games than they play them and want to participate in the economy. Gaming companies can profit not only in their own walled gardens, but also in every NFT market around the world. In addition to opening up to a wider market, the scope of purchases will also increase significantly. Land, assets, cars, skins, gear, and more will be available to buyers, fans, and enthusiasts around the world.

This all sounds great, but so far it has not made an impact due to technical complexity, UX friction, and scaling issues. These are significant barriers to mass adoption. The answer to solving this UX and scalability puzzle is to enable an invisible blockchain experience - and it will look just like that.

Thanks to recent innovations in UX-centric products like wallets, fiat on-ramps, frictionless compliance tools, and easy-to-use marketplaces, the UX barrier has been addressed. However, scaling to serve hundreds of millions of smart contracts and daily transactions on a single blockchain remains a challenge. Thanks to modular appchains, this global scaling challenge is finally being solved.

To be clear, this type of game will obviously not be built on the ETH mainnet, and frankly, it is too much for any single monolithic chain at the moment. If you want a true on-chain gaming experience, there are too many simultaneous events in large global games for traditional technology on a monolithic chain or rollup to handle. This is mainly due to congestion caused by "gas-guzzling" applications or "noisy neighbors".The only real solution is a horizontally scalable blockchain coupled with modularity and a gas-free experience for the end user.

To be clear, this type of game will obviously not be built on the ETH mainnet, and frankly, it is too much for any single monolithic chain at the moment.

If you want a true on-chain gaming experience, there are too many simultaneous events in large global games for traditional technology on a monolithic chain or rollup to handle. This is mainly due to congestion caused by "gas-guzzling" applications or "noisy neighbors".The only real solution is a horizontally scalable blockchain coupled with modularity and a gas-free experience for the end user.

Modular AppChains Solve the Noisy Problem

The "noisy neighbor" problem is a significant obstacle in blockchain networks, where one resource-hungry application can monopolize network resources, causing performance issues and security risks for all users. This problem is like a noisy tenant in an apartment building disrupting the entire complex. In blockchain, a single application consuming too many resources can create a bottleneck, slowing down transactions and increasing latency for everyone sharing the network. This is particularly problematic when popular games or viral AI applications drive up block space prices and cause network slowdowns.

Modular AppChains solve these scalability challenges through horizontal scalability and modularity. They provide a solution that enhances the performance and security of decentralized applications by operating as independent blockchain networks within a larger ecosystem. Each application chain operates like a soundproof apartment, ensuring that a disruptive application on one chain cannot affect other chains.

Each modular application chain has its own dedicated computing power, storage, and bandwidth, preventing any single application from hogging resources and maintaining the balance of the entire network. Although these application chains are independent, they inherit security properties from the entire node network, providing strong protection similar to a high-security building, with each apartment benefiting from the overall security measures.

Modular application chains also support seamless chain communication, allowing applications to interact, bridge, and share data securely at zero fees. This ensures that users can enjoy privacy while still being able to collaborate and share information when needed.

The Web3 industry is now equipped with the technology to power the next generation of AAA games, aiming to enable an “invisible web3 experience” where players can simply play games in a global marketplace without worrying about the underlying technology. This creates a win-win situation, generating more revenue for games and providing players with a superior experience with enhanced transparency, trustlessness, and true asset ownership.

The infrastructure is ready — the next step is for big games to arrive.