Nine Chronicles is the innovative MMORPG that uses a peer-to-peer blockchain network to keep going even if the developer closes shop.
If you've heard of blockchain technology at all, you've probably heard it in reference to Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that uses a blockchain ledger to keep track of every transaction ever made. The key to the technology is that it's all distributed, meaning there is no central server to hack or go down. Since everyone is doing the work of keeping the network going, no single person can bring the whole network down.
Nine Chronicles is a new game that wants to use that same technology and apply it to video games. The benefit of having a distributed game is much the same--without a central server, you'll never have to worry about the dreaded "down for server maintenance" message. It also means that if the developer ever closes up shop the game itself can keep going without them.
However, Nine Chronicles goes even a step further than that. Not only is the game distributed, but it's also open-source, meaning that anyone can edit the game and create their own version and even their own network.
Combining these two elements means that Nine Chronicles could wind up being a very complicated game. Since the game uses a blockchain and is distributed to everyone's machine, you can't update the game without the player's consent. But that same player can edit the game and create their own update version, forking the game's development from the original developers.
This means that in the future, there could be hundreds of different versions of Nine Chronicles that are all incompatible with each other and running on their own private blockchain networks. Or there might still be one central version where everyone just agrees to go along with the original devs--it's all up to the players.
The game itself seems to be a pretty standard 2D side-scrolling RPG with a lot of feline flair. You play as a cat person, you explore aesthetically compelling worlds, and you can craft and trade items. There’s a free-market economy that the developers will throw in digital items for you to buy with real-world cash. We assume, anyway - the exact details of how this game will be monetized haven’t been made public, but we know it’ll be free-to-play.
Nine Chronicles is currently in open alpha, so you might be able to play it if you head to their website and join the Discord server.
Source: Planetarium