As the Web3 gaming hype cycle cools, Virtually Human Studio is trying to steer the space back toward what made early blockchain experiments exciting in the first place

As many Web3 gaming ventures struggle to justify their existence beyond speculation

As many Web3 gaming ventures struggle to justify their existence beyond speculation, Virtually Human Studio is trying to steer the space back toward what made early blockchain experiments exciting in the first place: real, usable digital assets with long-term value and engagement.

At the center of that vision is Zed Run, a virtual horse racing game that once boasted tens of thousands of active users and over $50 million in NFT sales. While the original hype surrounding Zed Run cooled along with the broader crypto market, CEO Nir Efrat saw an opportunity not just to revive a game but to reshape what Web3 gaming could become if designed with actual utility, onboarding simplicity, and strategic gameplay at its core.

The result is Zed Champions, a newly launched platform that takes the DNA of Zed Run and enhances it into a more sustainable and accessible ecosystem. Built around the same concept—buying, breeding, racing, and retiring digital horses — the new iteration focuses heavily on user experience and economic balance. Gone are the convoluted steps that once required players to manage multiple crypto wallets, gas fees, and currency conversions just to participate. Now, new users can enter the game using fiat and an industry-approved tokenized service to easily purchase ZED, the game’s native currency, or stake as little as $5 on a horse without needing a MetaMask wallet or technical know-how.

What makes Zed Champions stand out isn’t just the racing. It’s the way horses behave like investment assets, albeit with a stronger game mechanic at the heart of it all. Each horse can be bred based on lineage and performance traits, entered into automated races to accrue value, and eventually retired, at which point users can collect winnings based on the horse’s success. Players can also choose to directly stake on horses owned by others, introducing a social layer and enabling users with smaller budgets to engage without needing to fully own an asset.

This multifaceted approach creates retention by design. Players are naturally incentivized to return daily or weekly to perform simple actions like boosting their horses, checking the leaderboard, or making timing decisions about when to retire or reinvest. There’s a strategic loop that borrows from the best practices of free-to-play mobile gaming—Efrat’s background includes roles at Zynga, King, and Take-Two—but gives it a uniquely Web3 twist: players truly own their assets and share in the upside.

The platform is built around the ZED token, which powers all breeding and reward mechanisms. Originally launched during Zed Run’s heyday, the token now serves a real function inside the game’s economy. Rather than simply buying tokens to flip them, players use them to create, race, and build stables. The performance of those horses determines whether and how much the player earns back, aligning gameplay with token utility. And since the relaunch, the ZED token has steadily climbed in value, reflecting increased activity and belief in the updated game design.

To broaden its reach beyond crypto-native players, Virtually Human Studio has also applied for and been approved by the relevant U.S. state authorities to launch ZPIX, a mobile spectator app available on the iOS App Store in 45 U.S. states. With ZPIX, users can watch live races and legally place real-money bets using a sweepstakes model. It’s a deliberate move to bring the experience into a format that’s more familiar and less intimidating to casual users—and on-ramp that could convert curious spectators into full-on Zed Champions participants.

Scaling Web3 games has been a challenge, especially in a post-hype market that’s still figuring out where actual user growth can come from. But focusing less on hype and more on gameplay-first, retention-driven ecosystems where value is earned, not just minted, might be the key. For Virtually Human Studio, that means focusing less on flipping NFTs and more on building an entertainment product that lives and breathes long after the bull market has passed.

Zed Champions may not deliver overnight growth, but it’s already showing promising signs of conversion and engagement. Nearly all players active at the sunset of Zed Run have returned, and the company is steadily drawing back its broader legacy user base. With community-first incentives, lower barriers to entry, and new mobile pathways in place, Virtually Human Studio is quietly redefining what a functional Web3 game actually looks like —and proving that long-term value comes from play, not just price.

Want more CryptoCurrents? Read more articles or head over to YouTube or Apple Podcasts.