Shrapnel ditches Avalanche for GalaChain to maximize its Chinese expansion

In a surprising move, PC extraction shooter Shrapnel has announced it’s ditching its Avalanche-based L1 blockchain and migrating to Gala Games’ GalaChain.

The news comes as Gala has announced it’s collaborating with China’s Trusted Copyright Chain.

This is a permissioned blockchain, which is overseen by various Chinese public sector organizations.

Shrapnel’s developer Neon Machine had previously said it was going to run a version of its game on this chain for Chinese gamers, while also running its own infrastructure for players in the rest of the world.

Now, however, the game will only run on GalaChain, although it seems that there will continue to be a separation of versions in terms of a China-only version and a rest-of-the-world version.

The background to the announcement is an agreement between Gala Games and Trust Copyright Chain, which will see the two chains linked by a cross-border bridge that is expected to go live in Q1 2026.

The bridge will be compliant with Chinese laws and regulations, including registration of NFTs inside China.

In this way, Gala Games will add utility for its GALA token, which is the gas token for the GalaChain. Shrapnel’s SHRAP token will be migrated from Avalance to GalaChain and continue to be used as the in-game currency for purchasing NFTs, with up to 10% of the game’s Chinese revenue said to be earmarked for what’s called “periodic SHRAP repurchases”.

“We are delighted to announce that Shrapnel has signed a cooperation agreement with Gala Games, a globally leading blockchain platform focused on the gaming sector, to establish a strategic partnership,” said director of National Operation Center of the Trusted Copyright Chain Xuan Hongliang.

“Together, they will jointly invest in developing a large-scale FPS game targeting over 600 million Chinese gamers. This signing formally marks the beginning of a collaboration between the Gala Games Blockchain Platform and the Trusted Copyright Chain. This initiative will bridge the two major digital ecosystems, providing trusted digital infrastructure and professional services for the authentication, distribution, trading, and protection of digital assets in the global gaming industry.”

“We are honored to connect GalaChain to the Trusted Copyright Chain through our partnership with Shrapnel,” added Gala CEO Eric Schiermeyer.

“Every cross‐chain transfer will consume GALA, reinforcing the network for players on both sides of the Pacific. Thanks to Shrapnel, we can now serve China’s vast gaming community through a platform built for performance and regulatory readiness.”