Oct 21, 2025 
16 mins to read Damn, I dreamed about deploying smart contracts again last night...
At 2 AM, while debugging a cross-chain bridge vulnerability, I suddenly received a message from a job seeker: "Bro Leo, what languages do I need to learn for blockchain game development?" The answer is obvious: either keep struggling in the quagmire of code or find a new business model like the Axie Infinity team did.
Honestly, after the GameFi hype faded, us veteran coders have developed a rather nuanced mindset. The frenzy of everyone chasing SCharts in 2022 is over, but players who truly understand technology are still quietly working hard. Just like what suddenly occurred to me while writing a resume for a job seeker last night: nowadays, blockchain game development isn't just about writing a few tokens and NFTs.
Axie Infinity: From Petting Cats to Working - An Ecological Leap
The Axie Infinity team is currently hiring, saying they want to expand their front-end engineers and smart contract developers. This reminds me of how they grew from a small team into a globally renowned blockchain game development studio. The key turning point was realizing that relying solely on virtual pets for revenue wasn't sustainable—user retention was too low.
Wait, this is just like the gas optimization issue in Solidity! Axie Infinity's success lies in their complete overhaul of the economic model:
- Player Incentive Mechanism—Truly tokenizing in-game assets
- Community Governance—Making players co-builders of the ecosystem
- Cross-Chain Support—Extending the game ecosystem to multiple blockchains
This system design approach is worth learning for all blockchain game developers. Remember the issues I found during smart contract audits? Many developers only focus on surface-level tokenomics numbers while neglecting the internal balance of economic models—just like how an EVM without gas limits would spell disaster.
Illuvium: Why This Project Might Be the Future of NFT Games
Illuvium recently made an interesting requirement while recruiting blockchain game development talent: "We need engineers who understand metaphorical narratives." What's behind this statement? They've realized that true gamers care about stories and experiences, not just money-making tools.
Compared to Axie Infinity's relatively simple economic system, Illuvium represents the opposite extreme: a deeply immersive world with complex internal economic systems. This is like implementing intricate DeFi protocols in Solidity—it requires balancing security with user experience.
Illuvium's technical architecture is also fascinating:
- Mantle Chain Compatibility Layer: Lowers the barrier to entry for developers
- NFT Upgrade System: Allows digital assets to evolve based on rarity
- GAS Subsidy Mechanism: Prevents high transaction fees from affecting user experience
- Modular Game Engine: Facilitates collaboration among different teams
This design philosophy reminds me of my early experiences with distributed systems—good architecture isn't about complexity but scalability.
Sandbox & Decentraland: What Skills Should Metaverse Game Developers Master?
Both Sandbox and Decentraland are game platforms building the metaverse, but their tech stacks are completely different:
PlatformMain Development LanguagesTech Stack Characteristics SandboxC#/Unity + JavaScript + PythonFocuses more on real-time interactive experiences DecentralandTypeScript + JavaScript + Three.jsEmphasizes VR/AR immersive experiencesThe Sandbox team particularly emphasizes "full-stack game developers" in their recruitment—they need versatile talent capable of handling front-end rendering, smart contract deployment, user interaction, and more. This reminds me of a lesson learned while optimizing smart contracts: single-language solutions are usually less flexible than multi-language collaborations.
Interestingly, Decentraland has started supporting Rust for underlying logic. This isn't accidental—when I saw their community discussions about reducing gas costs, I suddenly realized they're tackling one of the core pain points in blockchain game development: balancing efficiency with decentralization.
