Blockchain game development

Build the Next Generation of Games on QIE

Blockchain gaming lives or dies on transaction volume: frequent, small, and time-sensitive. QIE is an EVM-compatible chain built for exactly that. Mint NFTs, run play-to-earn economies, and move in-game assets without fees or wait times getting in the way.

25,000+
TPS capacity
<2s
Block finality
$0.0001
Avg. fee
EVM
Fully compatible

Don't let the blockchain get in the way of the game

Most of what makes a blockchain good for DeFi makes it a poor fit for games. Here's where that friction usually shows up.

Cost

Games generate a high volume of small transactions: item drops, crafting, match rewards. A network where fees average $0.17, like Ethereum's independently measured current rate, turns routine in-game actions into expensive ones.

Speed

Players expect an action to confirm before they move to the next one. A chain with multi-second or multi-minute finality breaks that expectation and breaks immersion with it.

Tooling

Studios have already invested in Unity or Unreal, Solidity knowledge, and MetaMask-based wallet flows. A chain that is not EVM-compatible means rewriting contracts and integrations from scratch.

Blockchain game development without the usual tradeoffs

One chain, built to handle what games actually need from it.

Performance

Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus on Tendermint Core, built for a published network capacity of 25,000+ TPS with block finality in under 2 seconds, per QIE's specifications.

Cost

As a play-to-earn blockchain, QIE keeps costs predictable: an average transaction fee of $0.0001 with 80% of every gas fee burned, so minting a common item or paying out a small reward doesn't cost more than the item is worth.

EVM compatibility

Full support for Solidity, MetaMask, Hardhat, Truffle, and Remix, plus standard ERC-721 and ERC-1155 token contracts for NFTs, minted the same way they would be on Ethereum.

Interoperability

Built on Cosmos SDK architecture and IBC ready, giving your game's economy a path to interact beyond the EVM ecosystem alone as it grows.

Already building in Unity or Unreal?

QIE does not publish its own Unity blockchain SDK or Unreal plugin. What it does have is full EVM compatibility, which means the standard Web3 integration approach studios already use for Ethereum-based games works here too.

Connect a wallet with WalletConnect or a similar library, point your RPC provider at QIE's network, and call your deployed contracts the same way you would on any EVM chain. Existing community Unity and Unreal Web3 plugins built for generic EVM support can be repointed at QIE by changing the network configuration, no rewrite required.

hardhat.config.js
// hardhat.config.js
module.exports = {
  networks: {
    qie: {
      url: "https://rpc1testnet.qie.digital",
      chainId: 1983,
      accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY]
    }
  }
};

// QIE testnet config shown; see docs.qie.digital for mainnet

Keep gameplay off-chain, blockchain where it adds value

Putting every game action on-chain is slow and unnecessary. The common, practical pattern is a hybrid architecture: core gameplay, physics, matchmaking, and real-time state run on your regular game servers, the same as any non-blockchain game.

The blockchain layer handles the parts that benefit from verifiable ownership: minting an item once it's earned, recording a trade between players, or settling a reward. That keeps latency-sensitive gameplay fast while still giving players real, portable ownership of what they earn.

What typically stays off-chain

Movement, combat resolution, matchmaking, session state, anything that needs to update many times per second.

What typically goes on-chain

Item minting, ownership transfers, marketplace trades, reward payouts, anything that benefits from being verifiable and permanent.

NFT gaming: assets, ownership, and trading

How NFT games turn in-game items into something players actually own, on an NFT gaming blockchain like QIE.

Assets

Characters, skins, weapons, and land are minted as ERC-721 tokens for unique items or ERC-1155 tokens for stackable ones, using the same standards developers already use on Ethereum.

Ownership

Because the asset lives in the player's wallet rather than the studio's database, it persists independently of the game staying online, and the player controls where it goes.

Trading

Players can trade assets peer-to-peer or through a marketplace. Low, predictable fees matter here more than almost anywhere else in a game, since trades are often small in value.

Designing a game economy that holds up

Play to earn games only work if rewards, tokens, and ownership come together as a real economy.

Rewards

Earned through gameplay milestones, competitions, or match outcomes, distributed as NFTs or tokens rather than points locked inside a single game's database.

Tokens

An in-game or ecosystem token gives players a unit of value that can be earned, spent, or traded. Sustainable designs tie token issuance to real player activity and real sinks, not just unlimited emission.

Ownership economics

Play-to-earn only holds long-term value when there's genuine demand for the assets being earned. Design the sinks and the audience for your economy before you design the reward curve.

What to look for in a blockchain for your game

The criteria that actually affect a game's economy, and where QIE lands on each one.

CriteriaWhy it matters for gamesQIE
Avg. transaction feeSets the floor cost of every mint, trade, and reward payout$0.0001
Block finalityDetermines how long a player waits before an action is confirmed< 2s
Throughput capacityHeadroom for high-traffic moments like a drop or tournament payout25,000+ TPS
EVM / Solidity supportLets you reuse existing contracts, audits, and developer toolingYes
NFT token standardsERC-721 and ERC-1155 support for unique and stackable itemsYes
ConsensusAffects security assumptions and validator decentralizationDelegated Proof-of-Stake
Fee modelWhether fees are simply paid out or partly removed from supply80% of gas fees burned

What you can build on QIE

The same low-fee, EVM-compatible foundation that Web3 games need applies across genres.

RPG

Character progression, gear, and crafting materials minted as NFTs that persist and trade independently of any single server.

Strategy

Territory, resources, and unit ownership recorded on-chain, with low fees keeping frequent strategic actions affordable.

Collectibles

Card and collectible games where each item is a verifiably scarce, tradable ERC-721 or ERC-1155 asset.

Competitive

Tournament payouts and match-based rewards settled quickly thanks to sub-2-second finality.

Virtual worlds

Land, avatars, and in-world assets owned by players and tradable across a persistent, low-fee economy.

Grants for game studios building on QIE

Whether you're a solo developer or an established blockchain gaming company, the Developer Grant Program funds QIE projects, including games, from 5,000 to 500,000 QIE, with mentorship included.

Apply for a Grant
5,000
QIE minimum
500,000
QIE maximum

Games already built on QIE

Live play-to-earn games running on QIE today, not concept art.

QIE Lottery logo

QIE Lottery

A provably fair, blockchain-powered lottery game on QIE, built for transparent, verifiable outcomes.

Pawsome logo

Pawsome

A dog-racing game built on the QIE blockchain using a play-to-earn gaming model.

QIE Doodle logo

QIE Doodle

A nostalgic play-to-earn doodling competition game on QIE, where players battle other players to win.

From design to launch on QIE

Five steps of Web3 game development, from concept to a live, on-chain economy.

01

Design

Decide which parts of your game economy belong on-chain: ownership, trading, and rewards, not core gameplay.
02

Build

Develop your game as usual in Unity, Unreal, or your blockchain game engine of choice, alongside your ERC-721 or ERC-1155 contracts.
03

Integrate

Connect a wallet via WalletConnect or MetaMask and point your RPC provider at QIE's network.
04

Deploy

Test on QIE's testnet with free faucet tokens, then push contracts to mainnet with Hardhat or Remix.
05

Launch

Open your economy to players and apply for Developer Grant Program funding to extend the project.

Frequently asked questions

What studios and solo developers actually ask before building a Web3 game.

Start with your game engine as usual, Unity, Unreal, or otherwise, and decide which parts of the game actually need to be on-chain: usually asset ownership, trading, and player rewards, not core gameplay logic. Choose an EVM-compatible chain so you can use standard Solidity contracts and existing tooling like Hardhat, Truffle, or Remix. Write and test your NFT or token contracts on testnet first, using free testnet tokens, then connect a wallet like MetaMask so players can hold and trade their in-game assets before deploying to mainnet.

In-game NFTs are typically issued through one of two Ethereum token standards, both of which work on any EVM-compatible chain including QIE. ERC-721 is used for unique, one-of-a-kind items like a specific character or rare weapon. ERC-1155 is used for items that exist in multiple copies, like stackable currency or common crafting materials, in a single contract. You deploy the minting contract with standard tools like Hardhat or Remix, then connect it to your game's inventory system so ownership shown in-game matches ownership on-chain.

It depends on what your game needs most. For frequent, low-value transactions like minting common items or paying small in-game fees, look for low average transaction costs and fast finality so players are not left waiting. For code portability, EVM compatibility matters, since it lets you reuse Solidity contracts and standard wallets like MetaMask instead of learning a new language. QIE is built around that combination: a published capacity of 25,000+ TPS, sub-2-second finality, an average fee of $0.0001, and full EVM compatibility. Weigh those specs against your game's actual transaction volume and existing tech stack rather than picking on reputation alone.

QIE does not currently publish its own Unity or Unreal plugin. Because QIE is fully EVM-compatible, standard Web3 integration approaches built for any EVM chain work the same way here: connect a wallet through WalletConnect or a similar library, point your RPC provider at QIE's network endpoint, and call your deployed smart contracts the same way you would on Ethereum or another EVM chain. Existing community Unity and Unreal Web3 plugins built for generic EVM support can be pointed at QIE by changing the network configuration, without needing a QIE-specific SDK.

Play-to-earn describes games where playing can produce assets, usually NFTs or tokens, that hold real value and can be traded or sold on a secondary market, rather than staying locked inside the game. Players typically earn these assets through gameplay milestones, competitions, or in-game economies, then trade them peer-to-peer or on a marketplace. It's worth noting that play-to-earn economies are only sustainable if enough real demand exists for the assets being earned. Studios should design the underlying economy carefully rather than assuming rewards alone will hold value long-term.

Cost depends on your contract's complexity and how many items you mint at once, but the network's average transaction fee sets the floor. On QIE, the average fee is $0.0001, compared to Ethereum's independently measured average of $0.17 as of August 31, 2026, per chainspect.app. That difference matters most for games minting frequently, common drops, crafting materials, or per-match rewards, where fees on a higher-cost network can outweigh the value of the item itself.

Not entirely, at least not on QIE today. There is no dedicated no-code blockchain game builder offered by QIE. You'll still need a game engine like Unity or Unreal for the game itself, and a Solidity smart contract for any on-chain assets. That said, the coding burden for the blockchain half is smaller than it sounds: template tools like OpenZeppelin's Contract Wizard can generate a standard, audited ERC-721 or ERC-1155 contract without writing one from scratch, which covers a large share of what most games actually need on-chain.

Build Your Game on QIE

Full EVM compatibility, near-zero fees, sub-2-second finality, and a Developer Grant Program waiting for your project.