Immutable Merges X and zkEVM: How does this affect web3 gaming

Immutable has announced that its long-planned move to bring Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM together into one network is almost complete.

The update, shared on the company’s X account, states that all games and staking contracts have already been moved over, while both the Sandbox and Testnet chains have been successfully combined. 

Immutable clarified that users do not need to take any action, as all funds will be migrated automatically by the upgraded bridge contract.

According to the Immutable team, user assets will be moved directly to the Ethereum wallet originally used to create an Immutable Link account. This means balances will now be visible inside standard EVM-compatible wallets such as Metamask or Passport, as well as on the Immutable block explorer. 

However, users who do not want their assets migrated can withdraw before February 11th, 2026, with withdrawals taking up to 24 hours to process.

The company also noted that the final step of the merge involves upgrading the Immutable X bridge contract. This upgrade comes with a mandatory two-week delay period. 

Meanwhile, Immutable X itself is being phased out. From as early as February 11th, 2026, all write actions (POST requests) through Immutable X APIs and RPCs will be blocked, pushing the chain into a read-only state. 

While read access may remain temporarily, Immutable warned that these services could be shut down without notice. Additionally, Immutable Link will be deprecated, with Passport now positioned as the main account solution, offering gas-free transactions for most actions on the new chain.

For Web3 games, this merge simplifies a lot of moving parts. Developers now build on a single chain instead of managing separate chains. 

Additionally, players no longer require special linking tools to access assets, making onboarding more familiar to traditional gamers. 

Immutable believes this setup cuts down technical barriers, improves performance, and creates a smoother experience across games.

Notably, a unified chain also makes it easier to scale economies, manage NFTs, and support future features without splitting liquidity or user activity. For live games, this reduces technical risk and long-term maintenance costs.

Immutable has been quietly positioning itself over the past year. Back in September 2025, the company announced a dedicated Mobile Gaming Division, making it clear it wanted Web3 games to run smoothly on mobile devices.

Since then, the ecosystem has grown to more than 680 games, with over 180 titles added in just one year, alongside steady growth in both developers and players.