Our very own Immutable team recently attended Gamescom, the world’s largest video game event in Cologne, Germany.
The 16th edition of the event brought together industry leaders, developers, and gamers from around the globe.
With its new venue and expanded focus on topics like "Games and Artificial Intelligence" and "Games and Democracy," Gamescom 2024 set the perfect stage for Immutable to demonstrate the transformative potential of web3 gaming.
Here’s the kicker: we were the only chain present at the event. Given that it’s a retail-focused gaming conference, we had to make sure web3 games were given a chance to shine.
As one X user aptly put it:
Let’s dive into the recap.
The Age of Abstraction: Immutable’s vision for gaming
Our team has long believed that the gaming industry is massively underestimating the potential of web3 gaming.
So, at Gamescom, we unveiled our concept of "The Age of Abstraction" - a future where blockchain technology seamlessly integrates into gaming experiences.
This vision goes beyond simply adding blockchain to games; it's about fundamentally transforming how games are played, owned, and monetized.
This philosophy was front and center at our booth, with every game we showcased demonstrating how web3 technology, like digital ownership of in-game assets, can enhance gameplay without overshadowing the core gaming experience.
Granted, we never explicitly discussed web3 features at our booth (as mentioned above.) Instead, we let the games speak for themselves, allowing players to experience the benefits for themselves.
And gamers responded as hundreds of players lined up to try out some of our most anticipated AAA games, such as:
- Space Nation: AAA Space Opera Web3 MMORPG that will take you on a journey beyond the stars
- Auto Legends: The next big car racing franchise
- Engines of Fury: a thrilling top-down extraction shooter set against the stark, chilling backdrop of a post-apocalyptic dystopia ravaged by mutants
- The Bornless: Free-to-play, FPS shooter set in a sprawling horror universe
- Badmad Robots: Intense and fun team-based free-to-play multiplayer shooter set in a brutal post-human society
- Pixelmon: Monster Combat Arena
- Illuvium: Open-world exploration, NFT creature collector and autobattler
Each of these games include a unique application of blockchain technology but more importantly, they’re fun–these are games people would want to play, web3 or not.
Many came back to our booth again and again, eager to squeeze in more playtime with these epic titles.
Immutable’s Gamescom interviews
We didn’t just showcase games at Gamescom–we also had the chance to chat with the teams making them. Here’s what they had to say:
Space Nation
Space Nation, the AAA Space Opera Web3 MMORPG, drew crowds with its promise of interstellar adventure. Darren from the Space Nation team shared his thoughts on the Gamescom experience:
“Gamescom has been an amazing experience. I never knew this is where the biggest gaming community gathers together. We're really happy to be at the center of it all. This is my first time at Gamescom, and wow, it's so vibrant! The Space Nation booth has been packed all day long. We've been here for five days, and the excitement isn't stopping.”
Auto Legends
Auto Legends, the next big web3 car racing franchise, had gamers lining up for a taste of high-octane action. We asked Dinko about the next steps for Auto Legends:
“Right now, we've built the architecture for the most competitive, and social game racing game. There's a little work to do before SEMA when we're planning on unleashing our soft launch.”
Bornless
At the event, The Bornless stood out with its unique blend of horror and FPS action. Eric explained what makes The Bornless one of the most exciting games at Gamescom 2024:
“...because we have a game loop that almost nobody else is doing. We got a horror extraction, FPS, PvPvE. You can see the line behind us. Everybody's loving it.”
BadMad Robots
The intense, team-based shooter BadMad Robots brought both action and humor to Gamescom. Avgusta shared the feedback they've been getting from players:
“Most people really love our game. They're saying the visuals and characters are cool, especially our character Zane. Some of them are laughing and having a great time. We're also getting valuable feedback about bugs, which is really important for us. As a development team, sometimes an outside perspective is exactly what we need. People are giving good feedback, suggesting improvements here and there, and we're super happy about it all.”
Pixelmon
Pixelmon's unique booth design caught everyone's eye. We asked Stefan about the inspiration behind their interesting booth:
“Our booth was inspired by our games, Pixelmon and World of Ascent. We created a bar inside one of the main areas because, let's face it, what better place to play games than sitting down in a bar with your friends for a PvP match?”
The road to mainstream adoption for web3 games
We believe that the world is just one hit game away from web3 going mainstream.
To accelerate this journey, we’re investing heavily in our community, with over $50 million in rewards planned for the coming months.
Not to mention, the 380+ games are already being developed on our platform today.
Our investment, coupled with strategic partnerships (and the support of our incredible community), is set to create a phenomenal network effect in the gaming space.
The future of gaming is here, and it's powered by Immutable.
