Mythical Games Is Building an Ethereum-Compatible Chain

John Linden, CEO of gaming technology company Mythical Games, said his company his company is testing an "adjacent" blockchain that will be compatible with the Ethereum blockchain.

The deciding factor will be if the Merge – a software update on Ethereum that is scheduled to take place next month – goes as planned, Linden said on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" show on Wednesday.

“We have a chain in testnet right now that is fully EVM compatible,” Linden said, referring to "Ethereum virtual machine."

Linden’s comments come ahead of Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake model of maintaining the network and verifying transactions from a proof-of-work one. The shift is intended to reduce transaction times and fees and to increase security.

Read more: What is the Ethereum Merge?

Linden said Mythical Games has been building the chain over the last couple of years, but Ethereum’s “massive gas fees” were a drawback. It’s hard to validate “big external fees” for users, particularly on a $10 video-game item, he added.

The company now uses the EOS.IO blockchain platform, which Linden said has allowed Mythical Games to create its own forked chain. “We added our own level of EVM compatibility over the top,” he said. “We added bridges back to Ethereum.”

“As EVM’s caught up to proof-of-stake, we’ve been leaning heavier into that tech stack,” Linden said.

Linden didn't fully disclose whether Mythical Games is moving to the Ethereum blockchain just yet, but said that his company sees “some efficiencies [in] having a true kind of EVM chain behind the scenes.”

Read more: Ethereum After the Merge: What Comes Next?