Crypto Gloss

Immutable X / IMX

Immutable X (now branded as Immutable zkEVM) is a Layer 2 blockchain infrastructure company focused on Web3 gaming. Founded in 2018 in Sydney by James Ferguson and Robbie Ferguson, Immutable solves the core problem of NFT gaming on Ethereum mainnet: prohibitive gas costs make in-game item trades and mints economically unviable for small-ticket transactions. The original Immutable X used StarkEx (StarkWare’s proving service) to enable gas-free NFT minting and trading. In 2023, Immutable launched Immutable zkEVM (built on Polygon’s CDK) as a complementary general-purpose Layer 2 for more complex game logic.

Original Immutable X (StarkEx)

Here is the story behind it.

Architecture

Immutable X (the original layer) uses StarkEx — a STARK-proving service developed by StarkWare:

  1. NFT mint or trade transactions collected off-chain
  2. StarkEx generates a STARK proof of valid state transitions
  3. Proof submitted to Ethereum — very cheap per transaction because hundreds of txs are batched into one proof
  4. Result: Gas cost per NFT trade $0.00 for users (Immutable pays the batched gas)

Trade-offs

Limitations of original Immutable X:

  • Only supports NFT operations (ERC-721/ERC-1155 transfers, order book matching)
  • No general-purpose smart contracts — can’t deploy arbitrary DeFi or game logic
  • Uses order book model (not AMM) — relies on Immutable’s matching engine
  • Not EVM-compatible — developers use Immutable’s APIs rather than Solidity deployment

Immutable zkEVM

Launched 2023-2024:

  • Built on Polygon CDK (Chain Development Kit)
  • Fully EVM-compatible — deploy any Solidity game contract
  • Ethereum-equivalent security via ZK proofs (Polygon’s Plonky2)
  • Gas payable in IMX or USDC (not just ETH)
  • Designed to host complex game logic, DeFi, and marketplace smart contracts

Difference from original Immutable X:

  • Original: StarkEx proof system, API-based, limited to NFT operations
  • zkEVM: Full smart contract platform, developers deploy Solidity, much more flexible

Game studios onboarded:

Immutable zkEVM attracted major Web2 gaming companies:

  • Guild of Guardians (Immutable’s own game)
  • Metalcore (giant robots)
  • Illuvium (open-world RPG)
  • Gods Unchained (trading card game, the original Immutable X launch title)

Gods Unchained and the Origin Story

Immutable’s founding story begins with Gods Unchained, a competitive card game with blockchain-backed card ownership. In 2019, Ethereum gas fees made trading cards impractical. James Ferguson and Robbie Ferguson (CEO) built Immutable X specifically to solve this. Gods Unchained became one of the first “successful” (by retention and engagement metrics) blockchain games. The experience built Immutable’s understanding of what game studios need from a Layer 2.

IMX Token

Launched December 2021:

  • Total supply: 2 billion IMX
  • Utility:
    Protocol fee payment: 20% of all protocol fees on Immutable X must be paid in IMX (buyback/burn mechanism)
    Staking: Stake IMX to earn rewards from fee revenue
    Governance: Vote on Immutable protocol upgrades
    Ecosystem rewards: Distributed to developers and users who grow the ecosystem

Distribution:

  • 51.74%: Ecosystem development (rewards)
  • 25%: Project development (team)
  • 14.26%: Private sale investors
  • 5%: Public sale
  • 4%: Foundation

Marketplace and Royalty Enforcement

One of Immutable’s key differentiators for game studios:

  • Mandatory royalty enforcement: On Immutable’s marketplace protocol, creator royalties are enforced at the protocol level — not optional at marketplace level like on Ethereum
  • This is significant for game studios who depend on secondary sale royalties as ongoing revenue
  • Competing with OpenSea’s controversial fee enforcement changes in 2023 (which made royalties optional)

Passport: Web2 Login Onboarding

Immutable Passport:

  • Sign in with Google/Apple to create an Immutable wallet
  • Email-based key recovery
  • No seed phrase required for users
  • ERC-4337 account abstraction under the hood
  • Designed to onboard Web2 gamers without crypto-native UX friction

Competitors

The Web3 gaming L2 landscape:

  • Ronin Network: (Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity-built) — Axie’s chain, recently opened to other games
  • Polygon Gaming: Polygon CDK chains for gaming
  • GameFi on Arbitrum/Avalanche: Many games use general-purpose L2s
  • Oasys: Japanese gaming-focused L2

Immutable competes primarily on: brand recognition with major game studios, enterprise support, and early-mover advantage with Gods Unchained’s proven model.

How to Use Immutable

For players:

  1. Create an Immutable Passport at passport.immutable.com (email signup, no seed phrase)
  2. Connect to a game (Gods Unchained, Illuvium, etc.)
  3. Assets mint to your Immutable address — viewable at market.immutable.com

For developers:

  1. Immutable Hub developer portal
  2. Deploy contracts to Immutable zkEVM (EVM-compatible, use Hardhat/Foundry)
  3. Integrate Immutable Passport for player authentication

Acquire ETH or IMX via . Secure assets with (Immutable zkEVM support via MetaMask + custom RPC).

Social Media Sentiment

Immutable has strong institutional credibility — their studio partnerships with major game companies (including AAA publishers) are genuine and add up to the most serious platform-level bet in Web3 gaming. The core critique from crypto Twitter is that “Web3 gaming hasn’t worked” as a category — most games churn players rapidly since the play-to-earn economics are extractive. Immutable’s counter-argument is that true ownership (not P2E economics) is the value proposition, and that they’re targeting game studios who want to offer this without a financial speculation angle. The platform diversification from StarkEx (original) to zkEVM (Polygon) caused some confusion and IMX price headwinds despite good business fundamentals.

Last updated: 2026-04

Related Terms

Sources

Canidio, A., & Wallet, R. (2022). Blockchain Gaming and NFT Economics: Key Challenges and Emerging Solutions. SSRN.

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Wang, Q., Li, R., Wang, Q., & Chen, S. (2021). Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Overview, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challenges. arXiv:2105.07447.

Zarrin, J., Wen Phang, H., Babu Saheer, L., & Zarrin, B. (2021). Blockchain for Decentralization of Internet: Prospects, Trends, and Challenges. Cluster Computing, 24(4).

Dhillon, V., Metcalf, D., & Hooper, M. (2021). Blockchain Enabled Applications (2nd ed.). Apress.