How to Launch a Fully On-Chain Game with MUD and Dojo: Step-by-Step Guide for 2025

Ready to launch your own fully on-chain game and ride the wave of Web3 innovation? In 2025, building a decentralized, composable game world is more accessible than ever thanks to frameworks like MUD and Dojo. These engines are powering a new generation of games where logic, assets, and state all live transparently on-chain. Whether you’re a seasoned dev or just crypto-curious, this step-by-step guide will get you from zero to playable autonomous world, no L2 magic required.

Why Build Fully On-Chain Games in 2025?

The on-chain gaming landscape has exploded in the past year. With MUD (by Lattice) and Dojo (on StarkNet), developers now have full-stack toolkits that abstract away the gnarly parts of smart contract development. Both leverage the Entity-Component-System (ECS) pattern for modularity and performance. The result? Games that are not only unstoppable but also endlessly remixable by the community.

MUD simplifies building on Ethereum by providing reusable components for storage, logic, and messaging. Dojo, meanwhile, brings ZK-powered scalability and provable computation to StarkNet, perfect for persistent worlds with complex mechanics. Together, they’re setting the standard for trustless game development.

The Core Tech: MUD vs. Dojo Breakdown

If you’re deciding between MUD and Dojo for your project, here’s what matters:

• MUD: EVM-native, plugs into any Ethereum-compatible chain. ECS architecture lets you manage game entities efficiently and supports rapid iteration.
• Dojo: Built for StarkNet using Cairo; ideal if you want ZK proofs or plan to scale your game world massively. Also ECS-based but optimized for high-throughput environments.

The best part? You don’t have to pick just one, many devs experiment with both to find their sweet spot. For more technical deep-dives on each framework’s strengths, check out our hands-on guides like How to Build a Fully On-Chain Game Using the MUD Framework: A Step-by-Step Guide.

Your Step-by-Step Launch Blueprint

Let’s break down how you can get your first fully on-chain game live using these frameworks:

Kickstart Your Onchain Game: From MUD/Dojo Init to First Smart Contract!

Install Prerequisites

Before diving in, make sure you have Node.js, npm, and a wallet like MetaMask (for Ethereum) or Argent (for StarkNet) set up. You’ll also need Git for version control. These tools are essential for working with MUD and Dojo frameworks.

Initialize Your Project with MUD or Dojo

Choose your engine! For Ethereum, run `npx create-mud-app` to scaffold a MUD project. For StarkNet, use Dojo with `npx create-dojo-app`. Follow the prompts to set your project name and directory. This sets up your workspace with all the dependencies you need.

Configure Your Game World

Dive into your project’s config files. Define your game world’s initial state, entities, and components. With MUD, edit the ECS (Entity-Component-System) config. In Dojo, set up your Cairo contracts and world schema. This is where your game’s logic starts to take shape!

Write Your First Smart Contract

Time to get on-chain! In MUD, add a new Solidity contract in the `contracts` folder. For Dojo, write a Cairo contract in the `src` directory. Start simple—maybe a contract to mint an in-game item or manage player data. Make sure to follow best practices for security and clarity.

Deploy to Testnet

Test your work! Use the MUD CLI or Dojo tools to deploy your contracts to a testnet like Sepolia (Ethereum) or StarkNet Testnet. Connect your wallet, fund it with testnet ETH, and run the deployment command. Watch your game logic go fully on-chain!

Interact and Iterate

Fire up your game client or use the CLI to interact with your deployed smart contracts. Test out actions, tweak your code, and redeploy as needed. This is where you see your onchain world come alive—iterate fast and have fun!

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1. Set Up Your Dev Environment: Install Node. js, Rust (for Cairo/Dojo), Foundry (for Solidity/MUD), plus CLI tools from each framework.
2. Create Your Project: Use mud new mygame or Dojo’s CLI scaffolding tool to spin up a template project structure instantly.
3. Define Your Game Logic: Design components like players, items, worlds using ECS patterns; write business logic in Solidity (MUD) or Cairo (Dojo).
4. Deploy Onchain: Push contracts directly to testnets/mainnets, Ethereum for MUD or StarkNet for Dojo, with built-in deployment scripts.
5. Create a Frontend Client: Connect your dApp UI using hooks provided by each framework so users can interact directly with on-chain state.

This modular approach means you can iterate fast and upgrade features without breaking existing player progress, something that was basically impossible in Web2 games!

Navigating Ecosystem Trends and Community Support

The explosion of hackathons like Nitro and open-source collabs is fueling even faster innovation. Both frameworks boast thriving Discords and Github repos where devs share code snippets, bug fixes, and experimental modules daily. If you want an edge as an early adopter, or just want alpha before everyone else knows, it pays to stay plugged into these communities.

You’ll also find plenty of starter kits and real-world examples from projects showcased at events like Nitro Hackathon 2023. These resources make it easier than ever to bootstrap your own experiment or scale up into a full-fledged MMO economy, all powered by composable smart contracts.

As you move from prototype to production, the real magic happens in how you leverage composability and on-chain transparency. With every game logic update or asset drop, your community can verify, remix, and even extend your game world, no permission required. This approach is already spawning new genres of autonomous worlds where players double as co-creators and contributors.

Testing, Iterating, and Deploying Your Game

Don’t underestimate the power of rapid iteration. Both MUD and Dojo let you test changes locally or on public testnets with minimal friction. Use their built-in simulation tools to stress-test game mechanics before pushing anything live. Once ready, deploy to Ethereum (MUD) or StarkNet (Dojo), then invite your early testers to break things, the more creative chaos, the better.

For devs obsessed with performance and scalability, Dojo’s ZK-powered stack makes it trivial to run persistent worlds with thousands of concurrent actions. Meanwhile, MUD’s EVM compatibility means you can tap into the vast liquidity and user base of Ethereum L2s right out of the box.

Monetization and Player Ownership in On-Chain Games

Fully on-chain games flip the traditional monetization model on its head. Instead of closed economies and black-box servers, every item and action is verifiable, and tradable, on public ledgers. Want to launch a token-gated quest line? Or a player-driven marketplace for rare NFTs? Both frameworks make this seamless by exposing smart contract hooks that plug directly into DeFi protocols.

This is where early adopters are seeing real upside: in-game assets become liquid primitives that players can stake, lend, or even use as collateral elsewhere in the Web3 ecosystem. The result? New revenue streams for both creators and players who help bootstrap your world.

Level Up: Best Practices for 2025 On-Chain Game Devs

• Modularize Everything: Break logic into small components for easy upgrades and community contributions.
• Open Source Early: Share code from day one, collaboration will accelerate your project’s growth and credibility.
• Punchy UX: Focus on fast wallet onboarding and snappy UI/UX; abstract away blockchain jargon wherever possible.
• Iterate in Public: Use Discord/Twitter/Farcaster for feedback loops; showcase builds at hackathons for visibility.
• Respect On-Chain Costs: Optimize storage patterns in Solidity/Cairo; gas efficiency is still king!

If you’re hungry for more technical deep-dives or want to compare hands-on build experiences across both engines, check out our advanced guides like How to Build a Real-Time Strategy Game Using MUD and Dojo Frameworks in 2025.

What’s Next? Pushing Boundaries with Autonomous Worlds

The future belongs to games that are open-ended, player-owned, and endlessly remixable. With frameworks like MUD and Dojo at your fingertips, and a growing army of builders sharing knowledge daily, the only limit is your imagination (and maybe gas fees). Whether you’re launching a PvP battler or an AI-powered MMO economy, going fully on-chain means every move is transparent, persistent, and upgradable by anyone with skin in the game.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start building on-chain games: this is it. The tools are mature, the communities are thriving, and the market momentum is undeniable. Dive in now or risk watching from the sidelines as others define what gaming looks like in Web3’s next chapter.