Immutable Games Studio unveiled the new partnership in an announcement on March 6. Premier game development studio Mineloader has produced AAA titles such as Last of Us Part 1, developed for TV and currently airing on HBO. It has also worked on the hugely popular Final Fantasy series.
The pair will be working on a Web3 2023 release of the Guild of Guardians role-playing game (RPG).
Mineloader’s extensive experience with game studios such as Ubisoft, Square Enix, EA, and Sony in game creation will “boost the development process and enhance the overall quality of Guild of Guardians,” it noted.
Vice President of Immutable Games Studio Derek Lau commented:
Justin Hulog, Chief Studio Officer at Immutable Games, said the Mineloader team shared the same vision of the future of Web3 gaming, adding:
“We are confident that we will be able to deliver an amazing mobile gaming experience that Guild of Guardians and the gaming community deserves.”
The move signals a Web2 to Web3 shift for the game franchise. Mineloader is the Web2 development partner for Guild of Guardians and will “enhance the game’s core gameplay loop and art, as well as new content.”
The firm will also assist with various elements of the in-game economy, particularly Web2-focused aspects. However, the Web3 components will largely be driven by Immutable, which is already an industry leader in the field.
Guild of Guardians is one of the most highly anticipated Web3 titles of 2023, with more than 1 million pre-registrations. However, the RPG release is not expected until the final quarter of the year.
Immutable cut staff by 11% last month in an effort to prolong its cash reserves.
Immutable’s native token, IMX, has been boosted by the announcement with a 5% gain on the day. As a result, the token was trading at $1.11 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
Furthermore, IMX has made an impressive 15% over the past week while crypto markets have generally been falling back.
However, IMX remains 88% below its peak price of $9.52 in November 2021. The growth of the Web3 gaming industry and a return of the bull market should see IMX perform well.