The Avalanche community is at the heart of everything we do. In this series, we’re shining a light on some of our favorite projects and the builders who created them. We hope their stories inspire you to join us in building the future of web3 on Avalanche.

Web3 offers game developers new levels of flexibility and scalability. For example, blockchain makes it easier to create, trade, and sell digital assets, a bonus for both developers and gamers. Gamers can also log data on-chain, making it impossible for developers to tinker with it after the fact. This gives gamers more control over their data, achievements, accomplishments, items and more.

But we need the right infrastructure to fully realize blockchain’s potential for gaming.

This builder’s story spotlights a team creating a platform and tools that will empower Web3 game developers to reach innovative new heights. Beam Foundation is equipping game studios with the ability to integrate blockchain directly into their gaming experiences. From tokenized achievements to in-game asset marketplaces, Beam enables developers to create true ownership economies where players have meaningful ownership of the digital assets they earn.

“Players’ achievements get locked into the blockchain,” says René Weteling, Head of Engineering at Beam Foundation. “These can then be transferred into NFTs, traded in marketplaces, and stored in personal wallets. True ownership means once it’s yours, it’s yours—you’re not tied to a game’s servers anymore.”

Watch the full interview with Rene.

Beam Foundation worked closely with Ava Labs to create the right solution to fit their needs. Here are the highlights from our conversation with René and Owen Wahlgren, Developer Relations Engineer at Ava Labs.

Decentralization at Scale: From Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake

Beam sports a system that empowers the community to become validators. The mandate for this setup came directly from community feedback. “Community involvement is critical,” René explains. “We hand control back to our users by letting them stake and validate the network themselves. That’s what Web3 is about.”

Beam’s structure means that:

• Anyone can become a validator; there are currently hundreds live.

• Node operators can earn rewards and participate in securing the network.

• Beam’s L1 is now fully independent from Avalanche’s Primary Network.

Reimagining Validator Incentives

The Beam Nodes initiative does more than give more control to users. It also comes with a robust incentive and reward plan intended to share the wealth with the validators that keep the network running: The Validator Incentive Grant.

Nodes that maintain 80% uptime for each 30-day “season” will each receive a share of the gas fees collected during that period, adjusted by the combined stake weight in each validator set. Those with less uptime will be eligible for a partial share.

These rewards are in addition to Beam sponsoring validators’ monthly fees. The team at Beam considers these incentives an essential way to give back to the community that has helped build and shape the platform.

Introducing NFT Staking & Delegation

Beam isn’t stopping at traditional staking. They’ve pioneered a new staking model where NFTs act as validator access keys. This means:

• To become a validator, you only need a specific Beam NFT, a Node Token, and at least one BEAM token. This change has proven popular: Over 58,000 Node Tokens have been minted.

• Delegators can restake or switch validators without unstaking their assets, thanks to a streamlined re-delegation system.

“We wanted to remove unnecessary friction,” René says. “With re-delegation, users can adjust their staking positions without withdrawing and redepositing funds, making the process faster and smoother.”

This approach is gaining traction and could set a new standard for validator engagement in Avalanche’s multi-chain ecosystem.

Beam in Action: Trial Xtreme Freedom

Trial Xtreme is a motocross racing simulator featuring groundbreaking physics-based gameplay. The first in the series was released in 2009 and featured metagame components to give players more control and foster replayability. The game featured a level editor for players to create and share custom levels and a global leaderboard to drive competition. These features helped drive over 250 million app downloads across the series’ first four installments.

For 2024’s fifth entry, Beam used blockchain to bring even more power to the players. Blockchain integration gives players true, meaningful ownership of their in-game assets. They can use Beam’s marketplace to trade and even sell bikes, blueprints and more.

Pushing the Avalanche Ecosystem Forward

Beam isn’t just innovating for themselves, of course. They’re helping evolve Avalanche’s L1 framework. Their work directly contributed to ACP-99, a new validator contract standard that other Avalanche chains can now build upon.

“A lot of what we built—our validator contracts, staking mechanisms, and the P-chain relayer—didn’t exist before Beam started this process,” says Owen. “Now, future projects will be able to use these systems right from the start.”

What’s Next? AI, Gaming, and Beyond

Beam is currently exploring AI integrations in gaming. Their vision includes AI-powered NPCs that interact dynamically with players, creating immersive experiences that feel indistinguishable from real-world interactions.

“Imagine walking up to an NPC and having a real conversation, only realizing minutes later that it’s AI,” René teases. “That’s where we’re heading.”

Are You Ready to Build?

Beam’s journey underscores the power of community-driven innovation in Avalanche’s multi-chain world. If you’re a developer looking to push the boundaries of blockchain technology, there’s no better time to start.

Whether you’re launching a new L1 or integrating blockchain into your game, the Avalanche community is here to support you.

Learn more about Gaming on Avalanche: https://www.gamingonavax.com/