"Ronin Opens Doors to All Developers, Unleashing Gaming Chain's Potential"

Ethereum gaming network Ronin has opened its doors to all developers, marking a significant shift in its strategy. Previously, Ronin operated as a curated blockchain, focusing on high-quality projects and building a reputation for prominent crypto gaming experiences. The Ethereum sidechain has become the second-largest gaming chain token by market capitalization, reaching $720 million since its launch in 2021.

Ronin is home to popular games like Pixels, Apeiron, and Axie Infinity, which was developed by Ronin creator Sky Mavis. The network has attracted multiple developers who have switched to Ronin, citing the "Ronin Effect" – the apparent boost that games see from the Ronin audience. As part of the Open Ronin announcement, Pirate Nation developer Proof of Play revealed that the game is expanding from Arbitrum to Ronin, with a Ronin NFT mint planned ahead.

Sky Mavis CEO and co-founder Trung Nguyen stated, "Over the past four years, we’ve cemented our status as the premier gaming chain, and now we’re evolving once again. With Open Ronin, we’re accelerating our growth – unlocking more games, DeFi applications, and dApps than ever before. I believe this moment will be studied for years to come."

To facilitate this shift, Sky Mavis has released the Ronin Developer Console, a toolkit to help developers create simple NFT listings, sponsored transactions, in-game marketplaces, and smart contract templates. The toolkit aims to simplify the process of building on the Ronin network.

Nguyen commented, "Today marks the dawn of Ronin’s golden age. If you’re building something that will make sense to everyday people, we want you to build it on Ronin."

Initially, Ronin opted for a closed, curated approach, only accepting developers of projects deemed high-quality. However, with a more mature ecosystem and growing market demand, Ronin is now transitioning to a more self-serve model. Sky Mavis and Ronin co-founder Jeff "Jihoz" Zirlin believe that this shift will accelerate the number of games deploying on the gaming network, potentially driving growth like Pixels did in 2024 and Axie Infinity did during the play-to-earn boom of 2021.

Zirlin's long-term vision is to create an ecosystem