Openfort, a Web3 gaming solution, announced its Ecosystems product to streamline the management of multiple games within a single Web3 ecosystem.
Joan Alavedra, CEO of Openfort, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the solution addresses the growing complexity faced by developers in the rapidly evolving Web3 gaming landscape as they take their games to multiple blockchains.
Bridging the gap in Web3 gaming
In the traditional Web2 gaming landscape, platforms like the Epic Games Store have emerged as centralized hubs for game aggregation, distribution, and monetization.
These platforms often leverage the popularity of flagship games, such as Fortnite, to build their ecosystems. Inspired by this model, Ecosystems by Openfort adapts similar principles for the fragmented blockchain world. However, it takes a distinct approach by enabling projects to construct comprehensive gaming ecosystems unified not by a flagship game, but by a shared token.
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“What we’re trying to build with Ecosystems is a future-proof network,” said Joan Alavedra, who started the company with his brother Jaume Alavedra. “We want to create an open network that any games can plug into to help their game grow, allowing them to tap into different communities, and importantly, remain decentralized. The games themselves are the key stakeholders of the ecosystem.”
Joan Alavedra added, “There’s a growing demand for multi-game studios and token-unified platforms. As this trend continues, solutions like Ecosystems are becoming increasingly crucial to address the fragmentation and complexity issues that have been holding back the industry’s full potential.”
“Like Steam and the Epic Games Store, we have a game discovery network and we are building tools to let thousands of ecosystems emerge,” Joan Alavedra said. “These brands need this infrastructure to get started. Some want their own wallet provider, their own token, their authenticator. We help.”
Once this infrastructure is built, it lets players discover new games and interact.
“This lets companies coordinate new ecosystems,” he said.
A way to manage games, tokens and partners with Ecosystems
Ecosystems offer a suite of products and services that unify the gamer experience. At its core, the platform offers Ecosystem Policies, a “game-changing” feature that allows developers to interact with rules such as gas limits at the ecosystem level.
“With Ecosystem Policies, we’re ensuring consistent and efficient policy application across all games and shared assets,” Alavedra said. “This level of control and standardization has been sorely missing in the Web3 gaming space.”
The white-label dashboard is another cornerstone of the Ecosystems platform. This customizable interface can be hosted on the developer’s own subdomain, simplifying partner onboarding and providing a single user-centric view of the whole ecosystem.
“We’ve designed the dashboard to offer project-specific views,” Joan Alavedra noted. “Individual game developers and studios see only the information relevant to them, while ecosystem administrators have comprehensive visibility across the entire network.”
Ecosystems also streamlines Web3 onboarding. Developers can create custom authentication clients or offer Single Sign-On (SSO) solutions, maintaining wallet consistency across ecosystems.
“We’re reducing friction for players while giving developers the flexibility to create tailored experiences,” Alavedra said. The platform also introduces enhanced management capabilities, providing ecosystem
managers with a clear overview of all games, assets, and policies. This bird’s-eye view facilitates streamlined analytics and improved resource allocation, addressing a key pain point for multi-game studios and platforms.
Complementing these features is Openfort Shield, a security solution that abstracts games from the complexity of handling private keys.
“With Openfort Shield, we’re providing embedded gaming wallets that enhance both security and user experience,” Joan Alavedra said. “It’s about making Web3 gaming as seamless and secure as possible.”
Industry impact and partnerships
The launch of Ecosystems comes at a pivotal time for the Web3 gaming industry. With the surge in projects involving the aggregation of games within single chains or across multiple chains, standardization has become increasingly complex.
Projects like Ancient8, Xai Network, DOS Chain or Immutable X are clear examples of this trend.
“Managing multiple games across our roll-up is a significant challenge. Gaming chains like ours are becoming publishing houses to some extent, and having a coherent way to control gamer experiences, incentives and conditions is instrumental..” said Thuat Nguyen (Zane), cofounder and core contributor at Ancient8, in a statement.
“There’s a network we are trying to build out. Ecosystems will be the umbrella for everything that falls underneath it,” Alavedra said. “We’re working with projects like Beam, a gaming chain, and GFAL, a multi-game studio, which benefit greatly from the flexibility to create their own authentication solutions and customize their player experiences.”
“As our studio ventured into Web3 gaming, we quickly realized the challenges of operating multiple games in a fragmented space.” said Christian Gascons, COO of GFAL, in a statement. “We need solutions that unify these diverse elements and streamline our operations.”
Openfort has formed alliances with major blockchain ecosystems including Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche, positioning Ecosystems as a unifying hub for Web3 gaming. These collaborations aim to increase network activity and allow various chains and protocols to retain their communities while capitalizing on Ecosystems’ network effects.
The road ahead
Openfort has outlined an ambitious roadmap for Ecosystems, including the continued refinement of core features, expansion of partnerships, and introduction of advanced interoperability features allowing seamless asset transfers and interactions across different games and chains within the ecosystem.
“Since early this year we have been exploring ways to unify the way Web3 games are discovered and provide unified tooling to allow full interoperability across chains and titles,” Joan Alavedra said. “Ecosystems is our answer to these challenges, giving users a no-nonsense sign-in experience like Amazon Prime Gaming or Xbox Game Pass while also bringing the benefits of blockchain and distributing value back to stakeholders.”
Openfort provides technologies to game studios, L1 and L2 blockchains to onboard players and monetize with simple APIs and game SDKs. Game studios and web3 ecosystems save time and money and provide best-in-class user onboarding and management by integrating our easy-to use, battle-tested wallet abstraction technology.
The company’s core mission is to bridge the gap between traditional gaming and the blockchain world, making Web3 gaming accessible, secure, profitable and enjoyable for both developers and players. Openfort’s suite of products, including its flagship Ecosystems platform, addresses the unique challenges of the Web3 gaming space, from wallet management and asset interoperability to user onboarding and ecosystem governance.
Openfort’s technology is built on a foundation of APIs and SDKs, designed to integrate seamlessly with existing game development workflows. This approach allows game studios and partners of all sizes to leverage the benefits of blockchain technology without compromising on game quality or user experience, the company said.
The company started in 2022 and it has six people. It has raised $3 million to date. Rivals include Sequence and Stardust. Openfort is working with 25 games now. And it works on an open source foundation.