Crypto Game Infected Ditches Base for Solana Over ‘Demand’ Issues, Pushback Ensues

Infected, a Pandemic-Simulation Crypto Game, Abandons Ethereum’s Layer-2 Solution, Base, and Migrates to Solana

Infected, a pandemic-simulation crypto game that gained viral popularity, has announced its decision to abandon Ethereum’s Layer-2 solution, Base, and migrate to Layer-1 blockchain Solana.

The move follows technical difficulties during the game’s launch, with Infected alleging that the platform failed to handle the high transaction volume, resulting in gas price spikes and frustrated users.

"Base couldn’t handle the volume of transactions coming in at once," the team said in an X post on Thursday, noting that this disrupted the user experience and ultimately destroyed the game’s momentum.

Initially, the team suspected the issue was related to frontend problems, but they later confirmed that the issue stemmed from a gas spike, which caused transaction failures during the crucial first 30 minutes of the game.

Infected concluded that the bottleneck was likely to persist across EVM chains despite some early optimism that Ethereum’s L2 solutions would address scalability.

The team pointed to Solana’s active focus on "real-world applications" and its growing user base as key reasons for their decision.

"We want to build where users are," the creators explained, saying that many users had expressed a preference for the game to be on Solana to avoid bridging.

Push Back

Jesse Pollak, the architect behind Base, disputed Infected’s claims, adding: "Base did not crash—the chain hummed along, just as it should."

Pollak explained that Base had reached out to the Infected team to help address frontend issues, detailing how the chain has millions of users and the team had worked to support the game’s growth.

Base’s total value locked (TVL) is $3.05 billion, with 1.2 million active addresses, DeFiLlama data shows.

However, Infected stood by their position, clarifying that while frontend issues may have played a role, the root cause was still the gas spike, indicating that Base’s limitations were to blame for the user issues they encountered.

Conclusion

The fallout has led to a flurry of commentary from the crypto community. Some have rallied behind Infected, with others questioning the game’s handling of the launch and allegations over a lack of data they provided to back their claims.

FAQs

Q: Why did Infected abandon Base and migrate to Solana?
A: Infected alleged that Base failed to handle high transaction volume, resulting in gas price spikes and frustrated users. The team concluded that the bottleneck would persist across EVM chains and decided to migrate to Solana, citing its focus on "real-world applications" and growing user base.

Q: Did Base experience technical difficulties during Infected’s launch?
A: Yes, Infected alleged that Base failed to handle the high transaction volume, resulting in gas price spikes and frustrated users.

Q: Did Jesse Pollak dispute Infected’s claims?
A: Yes, Pollak disputed Infected’s claims, stating that Base did not crash and the chain hummed along as expected.

Q: What is the total value locked (TVL) of Base?
A: The total value locked (TVL) of Base is $3.05 billion, with 1.2 million active addresses, according to DeFiLlama data.