Game Machine Labs Receives Grant for Multi-Chain Gaming Tournament

We’re thrilled to announce that Game Machine Labs has secured funding from the ICON Foundation DAO to build the first ever cross-chain gaming tournament between ICON and Base blockchains, utilizing ICON’s General Message Passing (GMP) protocol.

Learn more about the tournament details here.

Breaking Down Blockchain Silos

The blockchain gaming space has long been fragmented, with communities isolated on their respective chains. Players on one blockchain can’t compete with players on another. Until now.

With our cross-chain tournament, we’re demonstrating that blockchain gaming doesn’t have to be confined to single ecosystems. By leveraging ICON’s GMP through xCall’s messaging infrastructure, we’re creating a gaming experience where players from different blockchains can compete in the same tournament, earning rewards on their native chains while participating in a unified gaming universe.

Why This Matters

This isn’t just about connecting two blockchains. It’s about proving that interoperability can create entirely new categories of gaming experiences. When players from Base can compete against players from ICON in real-time tournaments, when rewards flow seamlessly across chains, and when communities from different ecosystems come together around shared gameplay, we unlock possibilities that simply don’t exist in single-chain environments.

The implications extend beyond gaming. We’re building the infrastructure and demonstrating the use cases for how decentralized applications can operate across multiple blockchains without compromising user experience.

How It Works

The cross-chain tournament runs its core simulation on the ICON blockchain, serving as the home ground for game execution. Players on Base connect their wallets and communicate with ICON through xCall’s centralized relayer, enabling secure and efficient cross-chain messaging.

Throughout the tournament, xCall facilitates critical interactions:

Team Formation: Base players join tournament pools by communicating with ICON’s smart contracts.

Equipment Management: Players equip weapons, abilities, and items across chains seamlessly.

Reward Distribution: Winners receive rewards including bnUSD, loot crates, and other assets distributed back to their respective blockchains.

This seamless experience is built on complex cross-chain infrastructure that users never have to think about.

Benefits for ICON Ecosystem

Hosting a cross-chain tournament enhances community engagement and attracts new users to ICON. The use of xCall demonstrates ICON’s General Message Passing capabilities in a real-world application, while distributing bnUSD as rewards promotes the ICON blockchain within broader gaming and blockchain communities.

This creates a connection between ICON and other blockchains, fostering collaboration and visibility while showcasing ICON’s technical infrastructure for cross-chain communication.

A New Model for Multi-Chain Gaming

Traditional blockchain games require expensive NFT ownership to participate. Gang Wars introduced a different approach with free characters and rental systems. The cross-chain tournament takes this accessibility further by allowing players to participate from their preferred blockchain without switching networks or bridging assets manually.

Players simply connect wallets from both chains, join tournament pools with entry fees, and compete in scheduled Team vs Team matches. The infrastructure handles all cross-chain complexity behind the scenes.

Community Support

The ICON community has shown strong support for this pioneering effort. As noted by ICON Foundation:

“GangstaVerse is launching the first-ever cross-chain gaming tournament using ICON GMP, connecting players from ICON and Base blockchains in a unified gaming experience.”

This tournament represents a significant milestone not just for GangstaVerse, but for the entire ICON ecosystem’s vision of blockchain interoperability.

Building the Future

The future of blockchain isn’t thousands of isolated ecosystems competing for users. It’s interconnected networks where value, assets, and experiences flow freely between chains based on what each does best. ICON’s speed and low fees make it ideal for game simulation. Base’s ecosystem brings new players. xCall makes the connection possible.

By pioneering cross-chain gaming tournaments, we’re not just expanding GangstaVerse. We’re helping build the blueprint for how blockchain gaming evolves beyond single-chain limitations. We’re proving that communities don’t have to choose one blockchain, they can participate across many while maintaining the security and decentralization that makes blockchain valuable.

This is the beginning of truly interoperable blockchain gaming, and we’re honored that the ICON Foundation DAO is supporting this vision.