Following another week chock full of activity at ZED RUN, it’s time to send our community into the weekend with another rousing edition of the ZED RUNdown!
Just two weeks into 2022 and there is already so much to discuss. From exciting business moves to tournament results and important roadmap progress updates, a week at ZED RUN is certainly a 2600 meter race tightly wrapped in 1000 meters worth of time.
Let’s get into your snapshot of everything that was, is, and will be happening at ZED RUN.
Rewind
Huge news! Virtually Human Studio (VHS) announced the acquisition of Spectre Studios, the leading extended reality (XR) and Virtual Production studio in Australia. This is a massive move that will help ZED RUN expand creative production and bring its entertainment brand to the next level.
The full details can be found in our community blog here and on the VHS blog here.
Thank You, Next
We’re officially on countdown watch for the one-millionth race at ZED RUN! Our team is excited to celebrate this community milestone together with you, so be on the lookout early next week as we approach the date. Will you be part of ZED RUN history?
Tournament Tracker
Congratulations to our Pity Point Cup 2.0 tournament champions! Winners took home a combined $106,000 prize pool, with Tournament A awarded $74,000 USD, and Tournament B pulling in $32,000 USD.
The Fibonacci Cup 4.0 qualifying round of racing is now open, with the tournament concluding on January 19th.
Back by popular demand, the Maiden Stakes 2.0 tournament will kick off on January 19th at 12 AM UTC. All tournament format details can always be found in the ZED RUN Guide.
Community Feedback
All of your feedback on the ZED RUN the Future: 2022 roadmap is now in! Below, you’ll find a few key data points capturing your survey responses:
As the team continues to build ZED RUN, we also take community feedback to heart. ZED RUN UX Researcher Rebecca Harvey is dedicated to the deep dive work, capturing your ideas and perspectives.
Roadmap & Product Update
- The Elo rating system. Final rounds of testing are in progress as we work to ensure Elo is rolled out smoothly. This will be the first phase of an improved class system. We are on track and targeting early February for release.
- Onboarding improvements. We are in the final stages of implementing a redesigned flow for new users who sign up to play ZED RUN.
- Tournaments. A few updates to our tournament schedule are coming in the next few weeks! This will represent a big step towards the Ultimate Tournament Experience outlined in our roadmap.
- ZED RUN token. Development is underway and continually progressing. More updates will be provided next week.
Creative Corner
While not every idea our Creative team dreams up becomes a reality, we don’t mind sharing what we’re toying with behind the scenes. Now, with the recent acquisition of Spectre Studios, the team looks forward to leveraging new technology and pushing the boundaries to build and create even more immersive experiences for ZED RUN and the community.
User Security
The ZED RUN team would like to take a moment to remind our community to remain vigilant in protecting itself against scams, bots, and bad actors. As noted in last week’s update, we recently removed thousands of bots from our Discord server and are currently conducting security audits.
We value the safety of our community’s information and sensitive data. Please remember to take your time and ensure anything you engage with is verified and safe. As an added measure, we ask that our community flag and report any suspicious activity to a ZED RUN team member.
Social Spotlight
When it rains, it pours!
One week, Creative Director Chris “Ebs” Ebeling and the team give the community a sneak peek at what weather conditions will soon look like at ZED RUN. Just days later, Ebs and Alex, Head of UX, find themselves battling the elements while discussing the future of ZED RUN. Rain or shine, IRL or online, the Virtually Human Studio team members stay connected.
Partnerships
If you’re one of the special owners of a NASCAR ZED PASS, rest assured, we’ll soon be announcing the first bit of extra utility you’ll see in 2022. Our team is putting the final touches on a few perks NASCAR ZED PASS owners will enjoy.
As you know, ZED RUN’s partnership with NASCAR is ongoing, and we can’t wait to reveal what we have in store with the leader in auto racing this year.
ZED RUN: In the News
- BeInCrypto predicts play-to-earn blockchain gaming will be the focus of the NFT space in 2022, and shouts out ZED RUN as one of its pioneers and leaders.
- Fintech News gave ZED RUN a shout out as one of the highest profile owners of Sandbox land in its ‘5 Metaverse Startups from Asia to Watch in 2022.’
- dGen Network broke down the flurry of activity that happened at ZED RUN to start 2022, including the introduction of the ZED RUNdown.
- Yahoo! Finance Australia interviewed our founders and wrote a feature on ZED RUN.
Content Creators
A big shoutout to ZED RUN content creator extraordinaire, Chateaux Zed, for taking time out to build a series of onboarding videos for new ZED RUN users. Chateaux Zed has created content dedicated to teaching beginners how to create a MetaMask and ZED RUN stable, to the intricacies of learning the breed type and genotype of racehorses on the ZED RUN platform.
If you or anyone you know is looking to get started from square one at ZED RUN, this series is a great place to start!
If you know anything about ZED RUN, you know community member Botlady knows how to throw a Twitch party. Don’t miss out as Botlady and a host of other well-known ZED RUN community personalities will be teaming together on a live stream to see who the best commentator is. Tune in, as the team will have some giveaways for live viewers!
Top Sales
If anyone is getting in their New Year’s resolution workouts in 2022, it’s @zedsalesbot. Make sure you’re following this tool provided by KnowYourHorses on Twitter for all the latest sales updates.
Community Milestones
Huge congratulations to East Coast Stables on its 1000th career ZED RUN win! What a monumental achievement.