Humanoid ant-based web3 game Tiny Colony launches on ImmutableX blockchain after ditching Solana

On Jan 24, 2023

While Solana (SOL) has made something of a small comeback lately, it hasn’t stopped certain top-tier gaming projects from migrating elsewhere. One of those is Tiny Colony, which has just announced its move to, and launch on, the ImmutableX (IMX) chain.

Initially developed on the Solana blockchain, Tiny Colony is one of Web3/crypto’s first management and construction sim titles (Illuvium: Zero, also on ImmutableX, is another early mover in this category).

This one is notable for a few reasons – for one, the people developing it, who consist of filmmaking, scriptwriting and animation veterans from giant mainstream gaming and entertainment companies including EA, Capcom, Netflix and PlayStation. Reckon you’ve probably heard of them.

The reason for the migration from Solana to the Ethereum Layer 2, gaming-focused platform IMX? According to info from the project shared with Stockhead, the official line on that is to leverage the latter’s “cutting-edge scaling features while retaining Ethereum’s uncompromising security and decentralization”.

Prior to the move, Tiny Colony was the top-selling collection on digital marketplace Fractal, with over 18,000 assets sold and US$3 million raised.

“We are delighted to be partnering with ImmutableX as we establish ourselves in the world of web3 gaming,” said Tiny Colony’s CEO and co-founder Arshia Navabi, who has an extensive film and TV storytelling and production background.

“ImmutableX has a strong reputation for creating top-quality games and supporting web3 gaming projects through their native platform,” he added.

“This partnership allows us to benefit from the specialized technical support, product life cycle consultation, and long-term direction provided by the experienced team at ImmutableX as we continue to develop Tiny Colony.”

We are moving to @Immutable 🚀
We’re incredibly excited for what this brings to the future of the Tinyverse #onIMX
More info here 👉 https://t.co/xYIW42HJiv
— Tiny Colony is #onIMX 🅧 (@TinyColonyGame) January 13, 2023

What is Tiny Colony?

It’s one of the first-ever blockchain-based construction simulations and allows players to build and manage a complex underground humanoid ant colony, following seven different factions.

It combines base building, tower defence-style strategy and sim management as you strive to build your colony in the game’s stylised, 2D pixelated world.

To succeed, players need to strategically farm and mine, build cells, hatch larvae and defend their colony against raiders.

And yes, there’s an element of earning NFT assets, which can be gained across multiple game modes, some of which are in development, such as “Gladiator Wars” and “Tiny Survivors”. These NFT assets will be able to be used in-game or traded.

So, similar to the Illuvium ecosystem of interoperable blockchain games, there is a chance to create real-world value from your time spent playing the game.

It’s not as if the Tiny Colony world is set up for players to grind in a play-to-earn capacity, however, which is a concept that’s beginning to die out in blockchain gaming according to the likes of Illuvium founder Kieran Warwick and Web3 gaming influencers such as Brycent. This game definitely looks to be falling in the fun-first, earn-as-bonus camp.

Co-founder Navabi has been working on this thing since 2018, bringing in others along the way, and one result of all his passion-project time and energy is that the gaming elements intertwine and connect through a well-developed story and rich lore.

Have a delve into the Tiny Colony website if you wish to learn more. Existing Tiny Colony NFT holders can access an MVP version of the game to test the core mechanics and provide feedback to the development team.

Note: This article is not sponsored by Tiny Colony or ImmutableX. The author is, however, interested in covering projects that will potentially progress the future of the blockchain gaming industry.

He currently owns a small amount of IMX, as well as some Illuvium (ILV) but has not made any investment into TINY.

None of this information represents financial advice.