Blockchain company Zilliqa discussed in a recent blog post that they have been building and iterating on software development kits for the commonly-used game engine Unity3D. This work will enable game and dApp developers to create games and software more easily on and for the Zilliqa blockchain, which in turn opens those devs up to the wider Zilliqa community.
A recent Unity report states that there are 2.8 billion people using content created by the platform each month, and for this reason the choice by Zilliqa of building with Unity is a strategic one that puts its blockchain within reach of a massive user base. Furthermore, the recently-included support for NFT integration in their Unity SDK will enable a wider range of developers to be able to deploy on Zilliqa and integrate their offerings within the Metapolis metaverse, even if their dApps were built on other blockchains.
Zilliqa’s Powerhouse Gaming Team Builds SDKs for the Unity3D Engine
Aparna Narayanan
May 27, 2022 • 3 min read
- Zilliqa’s eyes fixed on creating a frictionless gaming ecosystem for the Web3 world; numerous projects are underway to realise this goal
- SDKs to help integrate games with blockchain and metaverse environments
Interoperability is an essential piece of the puzzle in building out long-term (and bringing in mainstream) adoption of blockchain, and as such, also underpins Zilliqa’s gaming strategy. We’re working to make it as easy as possible for independent developers, gaming studios, and everyone in between to integrate their games with Zilliqa.
Our ability to achieve this depends on whether there are software development kits (SDKs) available for the most commonly used gaming engines.
A 101 on SDKs: A software development kit, or devkit for short, is a suite of tools designed to aid developers in creating software for a specific platform or a specific piece of hardware. SDKs typically include relevant documentation and often include additional functionality such as a code library with commonly required code samples, as well as tools for testing and analytics. These must be both comprehensive and easy to follow so users of varying technical competencies will be empowered to harness the power of the Zilliqa blockchain in creating games.
Why this is significant: Ultimately, our goal is to develop a set of SDKs to lay the foundation for a wider gaming ecosystem with Zilliqa, and to enable these projects to integrate within Metapolis. An added bonus is that VCs and leaders benefit from investing in blockchains which feature mature and ever-evolving SDKs such as ours. This is because it enables game builders to easily and efficiently deploy on Zilliqa whilst allowing games built on other blockchains to easily integrate with our network. This drives more users and strengthens the Zilliqa value proposition for both investors and user communities.
Robust tech will propel us to our next phase of growth. Here’s how: Zilliqa SDKs have been built using Unity. Those tuned in to the gaming world will be familiar with this, but for everyone else – Unity is an engine that powers some of the most popular games in existence, such as Among Us & Pokemon Go. Having built up its credentials and expertise over two decades, Unity features a cross-platform engine that can power games on the PC, next-gen consoles and mobile devices. Today, Unity’s 2.8 billion monthly active users (MAUs) open up a world of possibilities for Web3, and now – for Zilliqa-powered games and communities that drive their growth.
This build-out has been set in motion by our new ‘powerhouse’ gaming team who come in with a wealth of experience in the commercial and technical aspects of gaming. Head of Gaming Technology, Valentin Cobelea has established the roadmap for Zilliqa’s SDK strategy and will spearhead its development. As an industry veteran and entrepreneur with around 2 decades of experience working with AAA gaming studios, Intel & Siemens, Valentin is our number one expert on leveraging the latest tech to refine the gaming experience. From the commercial side, we’re in great hands with our Head of Business Development – Sports & Gaming Tom Fleetham, an industry expert who spent the last 10 years at IBM, building strategic partnerships, and most recently leading their Sports & Entertainment division.
Having amassed a ton of know-how on growing businesses within Web2, our growing team is now plugged in deep into the blockchain gaming world. Understanding what’s needed to build and scale successful projects and also how to help Web2 organisations to make the transition to the engaging gaming world within Web3, they are the perfect people to help us navigate through new terrains.
The team has already shared the Zilliqa Unity SDK progress via the public GitHub repository: want to take a quick look here? For those who follow software, you will see the evolution. What began as support for older versions of the Unity 3D engine has grown considerably, reaching support for all versions, including the latest ones (v2020 LTS and v2021 LTS).
What’s next?
As we move forward, our focus has shifted towards delivering more features. We’ve delivered support for NFT integration in the SDK v2.1 (available here). More features will be added in time to come as our development team expands with the addition of more top-level, senior staff with extensive experience in Unity3D internals and blockchain topics.
