Sonic is the first gaming chain project on the Solana chain, providing a blockchain platform dedicated to game development and operation by leveraging Solana's high-speed and low-cost transaction advantages.
In traditional game economies, especially when it comes to in-game item trading, purchasing props or other value-added services, transaction fees are often very high, and performance bottlenecks are often encountered when handling a large number of players online at the same time. In addition, traditional games usually rely on centralized servers to handle all game logic and data storage.
To address these pain points in the traditional gaming industry, Sonic uses its original HyperGrid technology, which is compatible with EVM smart contracts, to help game developers efficiently process and manage game status, logic, and events, aiming to improve game performance and achieve economic autonomy.
Specifically, Sonic achieves ultra-high throughput through parallel processing and layered technology architecture, supports high-frequency and low-latency transaction processing, and becomes an ideal platform for building complex game economic systems:
Low Transaction Fees: Leveraging Solana’s high throughput and low fees, Sonic is able to reduce the cost of in-game transactions, allowing players and developers to trade more freely without having to worry about high transaction fees.
High speed: Sonic's HyperGrid technology framework allows high-concurrency processing and layered architecture, supporting transaction speed and throughput. This means that even during peak periods, the game can run smoothly, improving the player's gaming experience.
Decentralization: Through blockchain technology, Sonic has achieved decentralized processing of game logic and data. In this way, even if a node has problems, the game can continue to run, thereby improving the stability and security of the system. In addition, decentralization can also protect the data privacy of players and reduce the risk of hacker attacks.
In addition, Sonic also has atomic interoperability.
The so-called atomic interoperability is to ensure the seamless interaction of different game assets and logic within the Solana ecosystem. On the Sonic platform, various assets (such as props, currency, characters, etc.) and logic (such as game rules, event processing, etc.) in the game can interact through atomic operations without being affected by interruptions or failures. Developers can more easily integrate and manage various assets and logic in the game, reducing the complexity and cost of the development and operation process. Players can also seamlessly transfer their assets and characters between different games without worrying about data loss or operation failure.
Speaking of in-game assets, one of Sonic’s most notable features is its “sovereign game economy.”
A sovereign gaming economy is a decentralized platform where game developers and players can independently manage and control in-game assets, economic systems, and transactions without relying on centralized servers or intermediaries. Sonic has created an environment that supports a sovereign gaming economy by leveraging the high performance and low transaction fees of the Solana blockchain, combined with its unique HyperGrid technology.
On the Sonic platform, all in-game assets (such as props, currency, characters, etc.) exist on the blockchain in the form of tokens. Players have full control and can freely trade, transfer or use these assets without going through a centralized server.
In addition, Sonic has achieved automation and autonomy of the in-game economic system through smart contracts. Developers can write smart contracts to define the economic rules, reward mechanisms, and transaction logic in the game. These smart contracts are automatically executed on the blockchain, ensuring the transparency and fairness of the economic system.
On a practical level, Sonic supports developers to create decentralized in-game markets and exchanges, allowing players to freely buy and sell props, characters, and other assets. This not only increases the playability of the game, but also provides additional economic incentives for players. Developers can design various reward mechanisms and incentive plans through smart contracts to encourage players to participate in games and community activities. For example, players can get token rewards by completing tasks, participating in activities, or contributing content. Sonic's sovereign game economy also supports cross-game asset interoperability. Assets obtained by players in one game can be used or traded in other games, forming a more open and interoperable game ecosystem.
Behind such a project is Mirror World Labs, a two-year-old infrastructure company, a comprehensive application development platform that provides a multi-chain application market, NFT management services, social identity authentication, and MPC wallet solutions. The CEO is Chris Zhu, who received a bachelor's degree from New York University in 2020 and worked at TikTok's parent company ByteDance.
Mirror World has received investments from Galaxy Interactive, OKX Ventures, Republic Crypto, Alchemy Ventures, and Mirana Ventures. Sonic has raised two rounds of funding, the most recent of which was a $12 million Series A led by Bitkraft Ventures, bringing its total funding to $16 million. This round of funding involves equity with token warrants, and Sonic's fully diluted valuation is $100 million. The funds will be used primarily to expand its gaming ecosystem, improve technical infrastructure, and drive global market expansion.
Sonic is also developing a decentralized application called World Store, an asset aggregator that helps game studios with asset distribution and payments. The Layer 2 network is designed to enhance gaming adoption on Solana.
Currently, Sonic is working with five game studios to develop products and jointly operate a development network. The project plans to launch its test network event "Odyssey", allowing users to send transactions, play games, and earn "rings" through on-chain activities. Although the rings cannot be directly exchanged for the project's tokens, they can be used for rewards.
The following is a practical guide for the Sonic testnet Odyssey event:
Visit the event page https://odyssey.sonic.game/ and connect your wallet. Currently only Backpack Wallet and Nightly Wallet are supported.
After logging in to the event page, click the faucet in the red box to enter the water collection page, and enter the Solana address of the Sonic test network to collect it.
Return to the task interface and select the corresponding task to complete, including following the official Twitter, joining the official Discord, daily check-in, transaction milestones and recommended tasks, etc.
◈ Galxe mission entrance: https://app.galxe.com/MirrorWorld/campaign/GCEsWtTgLD
◈ Zealy quest portal: https://zealy.io/cw/sonic/questboard
Collect available rewards in the TX Milestones tab and open the boxes you received
You can get a mysterious box by completing the basic tasks of the test network. You can get a random number of Rings by opening the mysterious box.
Within 2 weeks of its launch, Sonic testnet Odyssey has reached 300,000 wallets and 52 million transactions, which is enough to show everyone's expectations for it.
The mainnet and Sonic token launch are scheduled for Q3. The project is expanding its development team and building global partnerships. Sonic also offers a $20 million grant and accelerator program for game developers that integrate with its platform, offering various options such as token grants, token swaps, stablecoins, and fiat currencies.
In general, in the context of ETH Layer 2 technology being relatively mature, Sonic, as Solana's first game chain, has injected new vitality into the Solana ecosystem through its Layer 2 solution and innovative HyperGrid technology, and has also opened up new possibilities for global game developers and players. With the advancement of technology and the active participation of the community, Sonic is expected to become a key force in promoting the development of Solana's game ecosystem, but considering that Sonic is still in a relatively early stage, the subsequent issuance of coins and the launch of the main network will affect the direction of its project. In the future, whether Sonic can successfully realize its vision, let us wait and see.
