Opera has announced the launch of a new self-publishing platform called GXC designed to give game creators faster feedback for early stage games as well one-click publishing from Opera’s GameMaker Studio community. The company’s move comes after it changed the licensing model to make it free to develop games using GameMaker Studio 2.
In order to submit a game, creators simply have to open GameMaker Studio, choose their favourite project, then select the “Opera GX” target and start the upload process with the click of a button. Currently available in beta, GXC will connect indie game developers with the fast-growing Opera GX audience of more than 10 million gamers, said Opera, adding that the platform will open to a wider audience in the future.
The company has also announced a Community Showcase Competition open until 11 October and aimed at creators of existing games made with GameMaker. These creators can now export their games directly from GameMaker Studio 2 to GXC for the chance to win one of forty-five USD 1,000 prizes in nine categories (Best Action, Best Arcade, Best Platformer, Best Puzzle, Best Multiplayer, Best Art Direction, Best Soundtrack, Best Level Design, and Most Engaging).
Separately, Opera also announced plans to support NEAR Protocol, one of the world’s emerging blockchains, through a new integration via the browser’s native crypto wallet. In addition, mobile users can now access the Cosmos Internet of blockchains via the open-source software foundation Ixo for what the partners describe as "sustainable and regenerative digital finance".
Cosmos is an ecosystem of more than 200 interconnected sovereign blockchain networks, which offer decentralised finance applications and Web 3 services.
