Blockchain Game Developer Curio Research Set to Launch L2 Framework "Keystone" for Crafting High-Performance On-Chain Games, Including Real-Time Strategy (RTS) Titles

Curio Research, a leading force in blockchain gaming, is poised to unveil its Layer 2 (L2) framework named "Keystone." This groundbreaking framework is purpose-built to facilitate the creation of high-performance on-chain games, with a specific emphasis on the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) genre. Keystone, merging EVM with high-performance gaming engines, will prioritize support for Data Availability (DA) layers like Celestia.

Curio Research is dedicated to shaping the next era of crypto games, focusing on Composable User-generated Content. These games, entirely driven by smart contracts, empower all participants to contribute to the code and data of their "shared universe," resulting in games constructed almost entirely by players. Earlier, Curio Research successfully secured $2.9 million in seed funding, led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from Zonff Partners, TCG Crypto, Formless Capital, Smrti Lab, Robot Ventures, and several angel investors.

Through a thorough exploration of the construction details of past game engines, Curio Research combines crypto world technologies, such as ERC721/ERC20, with reconciliation and Entity Component System (ECS) architecture, to create a unique game engine prototype. This innovative system transforms features that previously required multiple days of development by multiple individuals into tasks that can be accomplished by a single person in a matter of hours, simplifying the creation, destruction, and circulation of game assets.

Traditional game engine architectures, such as game scales, parallel processing patterns, and heavy-duty data pipelines, are not sufficiently tailored for blockchain. In response, Curio Research has been constructing a customized chain specifically designed for on-chain games, capable of enhancing the capabilities of standard EVM chains by 100 times. The newly introduced L2 framework, Keystone, has emerged from these efforts. Keystone comes equipped with a built-in on-chain ECS architecture, meaning:

1. Game logic can be scripted in Go, providing an enhanced development experience.
2. ECS execution speed is boosted by 100 times and can be parallelized.

Curio believes that the design space for blockchain-oriented games is vast and largely unexplored. With frameworks like Celestia, Rollups are becoming increasingly personalized, and Composable Games stand out as a promising category.

Over the past year, Curio has launched various products, including the pioneering Naval Game and the recent strategy game Treaty. Treaty allows players to draft agreements using smart contracts, enabling them to establish rules governing their interactions in the game, such as custom guilds and asset trading markets. Presently, 200-300 players have engaged with the game, and Curio envisions a game world where players can freely invent and build in more complex ways.

Enthusiasts of blockchain games dream of a world where games can operate autonomously and self-balance due to the permanence of on-chain data. We eagerly anticipate such a world and applaud Curio's steady progress towards the grand goals of genuine composability and interoperability.