Fractal, Emmett Shear’s Solana Gaming Platform, Expands to Polygon
Polygon will shortly provide Fractal, a Web3 game platform launched on Solana in late 2021. The company, co-founded by Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, launched Ethereum sidechain functionality for NFT-powered games today.
Polygon now offers Fractal’s Web3 gaming suite, which includes a marketplace for in-game NFTs, a launchpad for new projects, and esports event support. Developers can establish in-game marketplaces for NFT browsing and trading using the Fractal SDK.
“Our goal is to support game developers, and part of that is being wherever the game developers want to be,” Kan said. “And a lot of them want to be on Polygon, to be honest.”
Starbucks, Reddit, Nike, and Meta have used Polygon’s network for their platforms, receiving Web3 exposure.
Reddit has created 8.5 million Polygon Collectible Avatars since July. Starbucks has a collectible NFT loyalty program, while Nike is selling metaverse clothes on Polygon.
Fractal will initially support 30 polygon-based games, including Sunflower Land, Aether Games, Life Beyond, and Phantom Galaxies. Fractal and Polygon Labs will host online contests and activities before the March Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Today, Polygon Ventures announced a strategic investment in Fractal, however, the number was not disclosed.
Creating on Solana
Fractal was introduced in December 2021 when Solana’s momentum crested, with the SOL currency nearing its all-time high and NFT sales rising. Kan said that most early customers were there to speculate on Solana NFTs rather than promote and acquire game projects.
Kan said, “We were selling fucktons of NFTs at the beginning of last year. like way more than we deserved for a company that was one month old or two months old.”
Fractal launched a $35 million seed round in April 2022, co-led by Paradigm and Multicoin Capital with Andreessen Horowitz, Solana Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Animoca Brands.
SOL’s price is 91% below its November 2021 all-time high, as the non-fungible token market plunged drastically with crypto values.
Most Solana NFT platforms no longer charge creative royalties (usually between 5 and 10 percent of the sale price). Kan noted Fractal’s NFT creator royalties as a major draw for game creators to Web3 development.
“This is your motive for maintaining the game, upgrading the game, and developing this ecosystem. If artists and game studios don’t want to do that, these games won’t last,” he said. Finally, they need money. Eat.
Fractal’s secondary trading volume has plummeted. Tiexo has only handled 2,660 SOL worth of deals in the past 30 days, or $64,000 at the current SOL pricing. 0.02% of Solana NFT volume traded within the chosen period.
Kan called Solana technology “extremely enticing” despite Fractal’s growth late last year. The startup launched Polygon-based games on the Ethereum mainnet in November.
Fractal will face a familiar opponent in Magic Eden, the popular Solana NFT marketplace that added Polygon support late last year. Kan believes Fractal’s singular focus on gaming will distinguish them on the new platform.
Despite NFT’s recent drop in popularity and video game fans’ hatred of the technology, Kan is confident that Web3 models will succeed in the gaming business. He is waiting for more fascinating games to show the concept, not just attract NFT flippers.
“I’m so bullish on open-economy games,” he stated “I think it’s still a future business model of the gaming world. We just need to see more games actually get created in this vein, then eventually one of them will be the next Fortnite or Free Fire that’ll change the world.”