The following text was provided by Grove, the original POKT Network Gateway.

As developers look to keep pushing the boundaries of Web3 gaming and GameFi experiences, the need for high-performing, low-latency RPC service is becoming more and more important. Portal’s RPC service, built on POKT Network’s decentralized protocol, meets these requirements, catering to the unique needs of blockchain game developers and players.

High-volume RPC traffic in Web3 Gaming

Blockchain gaming generates a high volume of RPC traffic because of all of its interactive and real-time activity. RPC requests unique to Web3 gaming include frequent querying of on-chain game assets, like NFTs, player rankings, and in-game currencies. These assets often need to be accessed and updated regularly to provide an accurate representation of a game's state. A player's NFT-based character might have different attributes, skills, and equipment that are subject to change as the game progresses. This leads to increased RPC traffic.

There's also the real-time updating of player positions, actions, and interactions within the game environment. This requires continuous communication between the game client and the blockchain, as every player action may trigger a change in the shared game world. In a multiplayer game, players might explore a map, engage in battles, or complete quests. Each of these actions can result in modifications to the game world, like unlocking new areas, updating player rankings, or altering in-game assets. All of these actions benefit from fast RPC service.

The validation and submission of in-game transactions also contribute to higher volumes of RPC traffic in Web3 gaming. These transactions include marketplace operations, item trading, and smart contract executions. All of these are essential for maintaining the game economy and facilitating player interactions. Think about a game with an in-game marketplace where players can trade items, equipment, or virtual real estate. Each transaction would require validation and submission through the blockchain. This generates a high volume of RPC requests as these trading experiences are carried out by players.

Developers and gamers need high-performance and low latency

In all of these scenarios, low latency RPC infrastructure plays an important role in maintaining player engagement and satisfaction. Performant RPC service ultimately contributes to the overall success and adoption of different games. 

Fast RPC service is crucial in Web3 gaming for several reasons. For starters, real-time responsiveness is essential for keeping gaming experiences immersive and dynamic. Players expect games to react instantly to their inputs, whether it's character movement, initiating combat, or interacting with in-game objects. Any delay can lead to frustration and a poor user experience, and in the worst case can impact player retention.

Competitive fairness is also an important factor. Low-latency ensures a level playing field for all participants. Without this, one player's high latency can result in another player's unfair advantage. In games where split-second decisions and actions make a difference, like PvP battles or timed events, low latency is critical for preserving the integrity of the competition and maintaining player satisfaction.

Scalability is crucial too, as games grow in both their complexity and their user base/popularity. The RPC infrastructure supporting these games has to be able to handle increased traffic and interactions. This helps to ensure that the gaming experience remains consistent for all players. As more players join a game and engage in different activities, like trading assets, participating in events, or exploring new content, the demand for high-performance RPC services increases. 

By providing fast, highly-performant RPC infrastructure, developers can accommodate this growth. They'll be able to deliver a stable and engaging gaming experience for their expanding player base.

Portal’s RPC Service Delivers on the Demands of Web3 Gaming

Portal’s RPC service, built on Pocket Network's decentralized protocol, not only helps deliver an optimal gaming experience by addressing the needs we’ve spotlighted above, but also aligns with the core values and the “decentralization ethos” of the blockchain gaming community and its developers. The Portal is the go-to solution for developers looking for highly performant RPC infrastructure (whether for their dApps or for their gaming-focused blockchain). Portal delivers low latency in order to ensure the best experiences for players.

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QoS checks

Quality of Service (QoS) checks are an essential aspect of Pocket Network and Portal’s RPC service. These checks help to ensure that nodes are staked correctly and on the latest blockheight for corresponding chains. This connects dApps with the healthiest Service Nodes, providing an important layer of checks that translates to optimal performance for players.

Node selection logic

Well-tuned node selection logic plays a vital role in further optimizing which nodes are selected to provide RPC service. By measuring latency and success rates of nodes' relay responses, the network rewards well-performing nodes with a higher chance to service relays. This process works to improve latency and provide better performance across multiple chains and different regions all over the globe.

See our supported chains

Strong performance across regions

With 16 different regional deployments, the Portal API and node selection logic work to provide the best possible performance and low latency for blockchain game developers and players.

We can see the fruits of this approach across several of the most trafficked regions in a couple of the more gaming-focused chains that we support: DFKchain and Klaytn. The below tables from POKTscan show the Mean Success Latency (MSL) and Mean P90 (i.e. 90% of nodes perform better than this latency) across different regions. (These stats are for a 72-hour window at the time of writing.)

DFKchain

Klaytn

Bring Fast RPC Service to Your Players

Portal’s RPC service offers a high-performance, low-latency solution that is a perfect match for the unique needs of blockchain gaming. By leveraging the Portal and Pocket Network’s pioneering approach to decentralized RPC service, developers can ensure their dApps deliver the best possible gaming experience to players.

You can set up an RPC endpoint in the Portal in minutes, and elevate your own blockchain gaming project. Start taking advantage of fast, decentralized infrastructure that aligns with the values of the blockchain gaming community. Give your players the performance and low latency they expect.

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Make sure to jump in the Portal Discord too! Join the growing number of developers tapping into the power of Portal for their GameFi projects.