Ronin Goes Permissionless, Inviting All Developers to Build
Ronin, the Ethereum gaming sidechain behind hits like Axie Infinity and Pixels, has gone fully permissionless, allowing any developer to build games, DeFi apps, and dApps within its ecosystem. This move marks a major shift from its curated-only approach, part of a broader initiative dubbed “Open Ronin.”
Why Ronin Is Opening Up
Since launching in 2021, Ronin has curated its ecosystem, hand-picking high-quality projects. Despite this closed model, it became one of the largest gaming chains, with its RON token hitting a $720 million market cap (per CoinGecko).
The network has become known for its “Ronin Effect”—where new games see rapid growth thanks to the chain’s dedicated gamer community. Titles like:
- 🐥 Pixels (farming game)
- 🧠 Apeiron (strategy game)
- 🐉 Axie Infinity (pioneering play-to-earn)
have helped cement Ronin’s reputation as a premier crypto gaming hub.
What Open Ronin Means for Developers
With Open Ronin, anyone can now:
- 🛠 Build dApps and games on Ronin without needing permission.
- 💸 List NFTs and run in-game marketplaces.
- ⚙️ Offer gasless transactions via sponsored transactions.
- 🚀 Deploy smart contracts using provided templates.
To support developers, Sky Mavis has launched the:
🎨 Ronin Developer Console—a complete toolkit with:
- NFT listing tools 🖼️
- In-game marketplace templates 🛒
- Sponsored transaction tools 💳 (so players skip gas fees)
- Smart contract templates 💻
Why Now? Sky Mavis Explains
Trung Nguyen, Sky Mavis CEO, said this move signals Ronin’s evolution:
“Over the past four years, we’ve cemented our status as the premier gaming chain. Now, with Open Ronin, we’re unlocking more games, DeFi applications, and dApps than ever before.”
Jeff “Jihoz” Zirlin, Sky Mavis Co-Founder, added that going permissionless will help:
✅ Accelerate game deployments on Ronin.
✅ Drive new ecosystem growth, like Axie did in 2021 and Pixels in 2024.
More Games Coming to Ronin—Including Pirate Nation
Following the Open Ronin announcement, popular on-chain RPG Pirate Nation by Proof of Play announced it would expand from Arbitrum to Ronin, with a Ronin NFT mint on the horizon.
What’s Next for Ronin?
Zirlin says gaming is just the beginning. His vision is to blend gaming with ecommerce and payments:
“We believe the path to getting there is by bootstrapping adoption and attention through gaming, and then expanding into payments and ecommerce, thereby disrupting the predatory banking system and credit card industry.”
Final Thoughts
Ronin’s permissionless shift marks the start of a new era, one that could see mass adoption of blockchain games and dApps. As the network expands beyond gaming, it may become a hub for decentralized payments and ecommerce—all while staying true to its gaming roots.
