Sui Taps Space and Time, Bringing Zero-Knowledge Tools to Web3 Games

Developers building on the speedy layer-1 blockchain Sui now have access to a full stack of zero-knowledge-proof-based (ZK) tools.

The move is possible thanks to a new tie-up with the Microsoft-backed data platform Space and Time (SxT). Critically, these tools are expected to accelerate the burgeoning Web3 gaming niche on the SUI network, SxT’s CTO and co-founder Scott Dykstra told Decrypt.

“Those ZK-proven query results can be connected directly to smart contracts on Sui or used to build verifiable dApps or analytics,” he told Decrypt. “This is especially important for Web3 games, where developers need to be able to join in-game activity with on-chain transactions and mint on-chain rewards based on in-game events. Proof of SQL allows them to do so in a verifiable way.”

For example, developers can index Sui in real time immediately after block finality, join this data with off-chain data loaded from their app, game, or other off-chain database, and store the entire chain state while proving the results with Proof of SQL—a novel ZK-proof developed by SxT.

“In order for an application to be truly Web3-native, decentralized, and blockchain-compatible, it has to be verifiable end-to-end,” a spokesperson for the Sui Foundation told Decrypt. “That’s what Space and Time enables.”

Shortly after its launch in May, the head of gaming partnerships at Mysten Labs, the developer team behind Sui, told Decrypt that over 40 games had already been built on the blockchain.

One of the network’s key advantages revolves around its ability to change in-game assets, like turning a gold-level sword or shield to legendary and giving it new capabilities, on the fly.

“Sui is an industry leader for blockchain gaming, and by integrating SxT’s verifiable compute layer, they are equipping developers with the tools they need to build and manage complex, data-driven reward systems within their games in a verifiable way,” Dykstra told Decrypt. “This sets a new standard for transparency and trustlessness in the Web3 gaming community.”

Edited by Liam Kelly.