Immutable has announced a strategic partnership with LiquidX, the driving force behind the rejuvenation of the battle arena game Pixelmon. LiquidX’s goal is to create a decentralized intellectual property (IP) focused on monster capture and combat, supported by a comprehensive four-part relaunch strategy.
The Rise of Pixelmon
Pixelmon has established itself as one of the most popular gaming NFTs on OpenSea, generating a lot of enthusiasm within the Web3 gaming community. Giulio Xiloyannis, co-founder of LiquidX, brings experience from digital ventures to lead Pixelmon towards providing a monster combat experience. Moreover, with a development team and a community of over 200,000, the project aims to meet community expectations.
Xiloyannis commented on the announcement, saying, “By collaborating with Immutable and implementing their zkEVM, a new EVM-compatible zk-rollup powered by Polygon technology and with full Immutable platform support, we are addressing a key pain point in the gaming experience – the seamless execution of in-game transactions.”
In 2022, LiquidX acquired Pixelmon, initiating a transformative phase for the project. Addressing artwork and community perception issues, Pixelmon has revamped its visuals, transitioning from its original Minecraft-inspired aesthetics to more sophisticated designs. This change is intended to enhance Pixelmon’s reputation and capitalize on its opportunities in the Web3 space.
Furthermore, following a recent seed raise of $8 million and receiving support from prominent industry figures, Pixelmon is beginning a new phase with significant backing and optimism for its future prospects.
Leveraging Immutable zkEVM
Powered by Polygon, Immutable’s zkEVM platform offers Pixelmon a range of benefits, including custom smart contracts, enhanced gameplay features, tokenomics, and a streamlined trading system. This seeks to address challenges in the gaming industry and facilitate the transition to Web3 development.
Robbie Ferguson, President and Co-Founder of Immutable expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “We’re incredibly excited to be welcoming one of the most anticipated web3 games to Immutable zkEVM. Pixelmon is an incredible turn-around story, focusing on delivering their flagship title with a seamless user experience. They are one of the main games I would be looking at to help drive mainstream activity in 2024.”
The Four-Phase Relaunch Roadmap
Pixelmon structures its relaunch plan into four phases, with each phase introducing new features to the game. The initial phase focuses on developing hypercasual web games, including Kevin The Adventurer and PixelPals. Subsequent phases introduce player versus player (PvP) and player versus environment (PvE) combat modes with Battle Arena Mode.
After that, the plan progresses to the third phase, which involves creating an open-world role-playing game (RPG) named “Hunting Ground” and an airdrop for the game’s governance token. The last phase is focused on developing a fully decentralized open world and monster combat arena.
Finally, Pixelmon has introduced a Right-of-Game (ROG) system, associated with its first-generation NFT collection, as a way to acknowledge its fan base. This system provides NFT holders with specific in-game rewards and benefits, aiming to improve the gaming experience and strengthen the relationship between the community and the game’s universe.