Blockmason, aeveloper of foundational distributed ledger blockchain technology, and distributed gaming application operator Magnachain announced Friday that they plan to develop blockchain-based gaming app systems.

The two companies aim to combine efforts in order to create a more healthy gaming ecosystem for developers to build distributed gaming platforms. Blockmason Link is a blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service product that allows developers to build on programmatic blockchains, such as Magnachain, without the need for expertise in blockchain development.

With Link, game developers can build distributed apps, make use of smart contracts and interact with a blockchain system just like any other web or mobile application software development kit. Link does not require gamers to acquire any cryptocurrencies or browser plugins to operate and the service does provides all the infrastructure for developers so there are no servers to monitor.

Hal Bame, chief executive of Magnachain, said that the partnership would “help players and developers alike benefit from the upcoming ‘blockchain era’ of gaming history.”

Blockchains work by creating a distributed database that uses encryption to make it tamper-resistant. Transactions such as payments by customers, trades of in game currency or items are recorded to the database, distributed among multiple nodes and secured with cryptography.

The technology has already proven useful for tracking data in the financial technology industry such as blockchain fundraising platform BnkToTheFuture Ltd. and financial services company PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC’s Vulcan Digital Asset Services.

Gaming-related blockchain platforms and services take on a myriad of forms including infrastructure products for developers such as Dragonchain Inc., developed by a team originally working at Walt Disney Co., and turn-based gaming platform Chimaera from Typhon Ltd. Others include virtual item trading platforms for games such as DMarket and Gamania Group’s virtual item blockchain that could enable publishers to raise money by selling provably unique game items.

Blockchain technology has brought gaming engine maker Unity Technologies SF to partner with GameCredits Inc. to create digital assets and similarly game developer Crytek GmbH and Crycash to mint a gaming cryptocurrency.

With Blockmason Link providing access to Magnachain, game developers will have yet another tool on the market that can be used to provide the stability and variability of a blockchain for in-game currency and items.

Developers interested in using Magnachain can find information, software development kit and application programming interface documentation at the company’s developer portal. Further details about Blockmason Link — smart contracts, comparisons and development roadmaps — are also available online.

Image: Magnachain