Ultimate Champions is a game of the already established fantasy football genre, in which you act as the director of a club. It consists of “hiring” the players of a league, represented by “virtual cards”, and competing based on the performance of these players in their respective teams. The objective is to optimize the club’s budget to assemble teams with the best available players, capitalize on the victories and, thus, continue improving the team.
Table of Contents
The game
After registering, the user uses an initial budget to choose 14 “cards” of players. Each week, the team’s performance is rewarded with new cards and in-game tokens, which are used for new card purchases. In order to maximize the rewards of each round, the user uses statistics from the real championships to compose his team with the most potential players. Cards are issued seasonally, valid for one season only, and vary in rarity based on player skills. Each “class” of cards also generates different amounts of points and bonuses, generating incentives for teams composed of the rarest ones.
Offer
Spots
Bonus
Common Infinite 0 0 Rare 3,000 1 10% Epic 300 10 15% Mythic 30 100 25% Unique 1 3,000 50% In addition to the normal game mode, it is possible to participate in restricted tournaments, with bigger prizes, composed of rarer cards or other conditions (age, country, new cards…). The Clash mode should also be released soon: a deathmatch that promises unprecedented strategic actions in the genre, such as banishing opposing players.
The game economy
The Ultimate Champions economy is mainly driven by player transactions in the market – who pay a 5% fee to the platform – and card pack purchases, which can be normal or premium. To mitigate token price volatility and possible impacts on the game’s economy, the price of card packs is denominated in dollars.
The game has two tokens:
The MGC, earned as a reward each round, can be burned in exchange for card packs. This token is traded only with the app itself, being created and destroyed according to in-game transactions, and seeks to maintain price parity at $0.01. The CHAMP token can be used for player purchases in the market or premium packages. In addition, it represents the right to share in earnings and other features of the platform, being aimed at investors and the best players. The CHAMP token offering is limited to 1 billion units, distributed over 5 years to investors, advisors, stakers, the developer company (Unagi) and a reserve fund for ecosystem development. The proceeds are used to fund Unagi’s operations and to remunerate players. Over 5 years, the portion that remunerates players will grow from 25% to 50% of revenues, in order to increase the total amount of incentives offered. Other sources of revenue should also be implemented: special auctions for more prominent letters; cosmetics, that is, items that do not affect team performance; consumable items in specific game modes; and NFTs such as portraits, banners and stadiums.
Analysis
Ultimate Champions works in a favorable niche for the potential for sustainability of the game: since, in games of this type, many players are used to pay to play, it will be possible to honor the distribution of earnings with revenues generated on the platform. The project is run by a couple of experienced CEOs and a team with a good track record of free games at Ubisoft, one of the leading companies in the field. It has the investment of Venture Capital funds and strong partnerships, especially the CEO of Ubisoft, co-founders of the Polygon network and the crypto metaverse project The Sandbox. The project still has reduced reach, with only Arsenal as a relevant club in the game, but it has already reached smaller clubs in France and Scotland, as well as the Romanian top flight. Planning for 2023 includes scaling up to basketball, listing the CHAMP token on exchanges (Q3), and launching the player market. Staking should also be implemented, with remuneration restricted to teams registered in certain game modes; and a staking reward multiplier based on team performance. These measures should encourage CHAMP investors to gamble and players to invest, discouraging predatory behavior.
Conclusion, risks and opportunities
Ultimate Champions is undoubtedly a relevant release for the blockchain gaming ecosystem. With an experienced team, good partnerships and a solid economic model, the foundations are laid for a possible AAA title. The project’s credibility is supported by the list of important partners and investors and by an audit, carried out by Certik, of the addresses and smart contracts used. Regarding the expansion of partnerships with clubs, the existence of contracts with similar games and the high costs involved can be limiting. Less relevant championships, such as those in low-income countries, may combine greater ease of entry with larger audiences. In terms of discretion, the game has some risks of exaggerated dilution. As the team can include new teams, rarity “levels”, define the amount of limited edition packs and special rewards for the best players, the issuance of cards and tokens should be moderate so as not to drop prices. Finally, it will be important to observe the behavior of investors and staff when the first CHAMP tokens hit the market (3 months after their launch). Immediate sales of large volumes can denote little commitment to the long term and, as a result, affect the credibility of the game. To learn more, meet Clubzz: a complete platform to learn about crypto, blockchain, DeFi and gaming.
Warning: The text presented in this column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CriptoFácil. Also Read: Crypto Winter, Inflation, High Dollar and the Trade Mindset Also Read: Over $100 Million Lost in Less Than 1 Hour as BTC and ETH Fall front end
