Blockchain and games: a novel middleware for blockchain-based multiplayer games

Abstract

Multiplayer computer games can be divided into two architectural groups: client-server and Peer-to-Peer (P2P). While the peer-to-peer approach is very promising due to its independence of expensive game servers, a number of issues, such as state synchronization in an un-trusted environment, arise. Blockchain networks are a special case of a P2P network, and they have the potential to efficiently tackle some issues with P2P-based multiplayer games. However, blockchain development is a vast and complicated area, foreign to most game developers. In this paper, we present a framework to connect an existing game client to a blockchain network, friendly towards game developers. More precisely, we develop a middleware solution and a data model therein, to store the game state on a chain and communicate it to the game client.