The developers of the Ethereum rollup-based layer-2 network Arbitrum, the Arbitrum Foundation, have made significant financial contributions to the growth of the gaming sector inside its ecosystem. A total of 225 million Arbitrum (ARB) tokens, worth around $215 million, are put aside under the plan and will be distributed over the course of three years via the recently formed Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP). In order to promote growth and involvement within the gaming community, the program seeks to quickly raise awareness of and usage of Arbitrum, Orbit, and Stylus among players and game producers.The plan was first put up in March, and on June 7, it was adopted with more than 75% of the vote in favor. The proposal suggested requesting approval from the Arbitrum decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to set aside 200 million ARB for the purpose of promoting game creation on its blockchain over a two-year period. Prominent backers of the idea included the gaming-focused Treasure DAO, L2Beat, and Wintermute. Those that were against included Camelot DAO and Blockworks Research.
Treasure DAO supported the plan with a joyful statement on X, saying, “Let’s make some magic happen—Arbitrum is the home of gaming.”A sizeable chunk of the fund is set aside for publishers, while grants of up to 500,000 ARB (about $483,000 at current pricing) are available for new and early-stage developers. Conversely, more seasoned developers are eligible to apply for investments with a value-sharing component, like shares, tokens, or comparable agreements. The remainder of the money will be split between operating costs and infrastructure-related rewards, promoting the expansion and improvement of the ecosystem.The daily management of the GCP will be handled by a committed team. Experts in gaming, venture financing, data analysis, and DAO governance make up the five-member council that will oversee and guide strategy in the interim. This governance framework promotes accountability and innovation while ensuring that funds are distributed efficiently to meet the DAO’s goals. In order to ensure the program’s effective execution and adherence to its rules, the council also has the authority to veto choices on team appointments and investment decisions.The GCP put in place a strict financial structure, limiting its running costs to $25 million. Any expense that goes over this cap needs the DAO’s express consent. Additionally, in March, a plan to pay for Tornado Cash’s developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev’s legal defense expenses was eliminated by The Arbitrum DAO.