Sorare 2023 Q2 update — the Good, the Bad/Bewildering & the Future
It has been 2 years since I last typed out my Sorare thoughts in a medium post. Maybe that’s the best frequency for me these days!
Thankfully during this time there has been an influx of content creators that provide the community with educational and fun ways to learn and maximise your time and ‘investment’ (there.. I said it inside the first main paragraph) in the game!
I’ve preferred to vent my criticism and joy on Twitter these past years in addition to being part of smaller side communities and group chats with others that I trust and enjoy challenging all Sorare talking points from a variety of perspectives.
Now after just experiencing an incredible ‘high’ from watching the MLB Series game in London on Sunday I can’t confine the madness for me of the certain aspects within Sorare from which you can obtain such a positive buzz whilst the platforms fundamentals still give off a polar opposite feeling in terms of disbelief and bewilderment.
Sorare — The Good
I’ll start by giving praise where praise is due and the recent shift towards providing Sorare managers with opportunities that money can’t buy couldn’t have come at a better time.
I’d even go as far to say that these have helped ‘save the game’… and this is not a click bait attempt to be dramatic… (as this section is a celebration of the positives) but I’ll cover this off later.
Sorare Experiences
Combined with another huge positive (Branding) Sorare is now more visible than ever before in many of the major sporting venues and events around the world.
Arenas, stadiums on match days, drafts, awards. You name it and there is a good chance you’ll see prominent Sorare adverts and signage on display.
Our favourite athletes are also getting in on the act dripped out in Sorare merch and featuring on marketing campaigns too. The company is looking stronger than ever on social media and this looks set to continue.
Now activate the cherry on top: Start allowing your users to run riot in these locations (or behave and enjoy responsibly) and get them closer to their favourite players, kit them out with merch as well and they’ll show you on socials that they are happy as a pig in shit.
Rinse, repeat and it’s a proven recipe for success. #SorareOnTour is destined to be a very cool hashtag to look back on in years to come.
Now, would I like to see these become more inclusive for users that are not on the doorstep of one of these events — of course.
Would I also like to see some effort from Sorare to extend the opportunities to include flights/hotels (surely not too much to ask?) and if someone wins an experience and they can’t attend, why can’t they receive their reward as a NFT (like the old La Liga cards) so they can still gain a benefit from winning?
Give winners the option to sell or trade it to someone whilst at the same time take a cut from the secondary market transaction. Does this not create a win-win-win scenario as opposed to no-one going on the experience?
I’m sure as time goes by Sorare experiences will escalate to be the primary reason people join and play, so I hope more consideration can be given to the process behind ensuring that more users and true fans get to enjoy the incredible prizes that are available to win.
Committed Community
Building on the above, when Sorare hooks you, then there is no turning back.
Whether that be your first fan pick up at auction, a high placing in a tournament, a quick flip or (insert here your preferred Sorare dopamine hit) something has to then go dramatically wrong for the toys to be thrown out the pram and for a user to walk away. But they do and we’ll cover off some reasons why shortly…
In recent times we’ve seen more FPL and YouTubers come over and try their hand with Sorare, bringing a variety of new audiences and approaches to the game with them. This has helped add even more noise to the perennial content creators who have amassed their own cult followings for the value/entertainment they provide for fellow users.
From the early beginnings of Sorare Japan through to the household names like Nellis, Lairdinho and Quinny and the vast international communities run by the likes of Nacho Heras and Spicer.. there really is no shortage of content and information where users can get their fix off the platform and without these power creators/community driven users, the game would not be where it is today.
Collection Game
Having harped on for 4 years about Sorare using the word ‘Collectibles’ whilst not actually showing signs of being a collectible platform, I do have to tip my hat again to this recent implementation.
It has created a buzz not felt for a while and has breathed much needed life into a cross section of cards that to date had been left unloved.
I particularly like the fact that collections have been done in a way that preserves the integrity of the overall supply not requiring any burn mechanism.
In combination with the recently introduced ‘List or Play’ rule, Sorare have seemingly convinced users to view the widely ignored T4, T5 and retired cards in a positive light (akin to staking) in order to squeeze a bit more upside onto their Fantasy scores.
I’ve enjoyed watching others rekindle their passion towards collecting and feel somewhat vindicated for my own decision to treat the game as others are now doing since I started in 2019.
Now we just have to watch it play out for a longer period to see if the current sentiment is sustainable and whether indeed this can be developed out further.
It would be great to see collections evolve and lead to more tailored Sorare experiences across the world. The potential is enormous.
Sorare — The Bad
On the football side, the Sorare platform has matured to offer a consistent and robust year round, tournament structure.
Are there improvements to be had? Always!
It would be great to play in longer tournaments (now possible in Private Leagues) and have working filters but as I’m trying to be balanced in this article I’ll focus on just my biggest pet peeves, which are:
- Rewards
- Incentives
Rewards
For a game that’s been running for 4+ years and is building a ‘better’ fantasy product thanks to utilising blockchain technology, why do rewards still not feel fully decentralised and transparent?
If you are reading this and have been on the rough end of the stick reward wise and have had no recourse, you have my empathy. It’s still just so disapppointing to be this far down the line and the same issues arise.
For me the absolute lowlight of my Sorare experience to date was recently receiving a manually redrawn reward because there isn’t a verification process they can share with users.
Most disappointing was learning it was the predicted outcry from the community that was in-fact the primary reason that the reward had to be manually chosen. It was pre-confirmed that I could not be seen to win one of the top 2 cards which carried significantly more value than the rest (even though the initial reward given was yet another QC error by Sorare).
We’ve had months of joking about the endless Anthony Davis SR rewards and the no show of a Doncic reward in the NBA which has continued into MLB where we now hunt to find an elusive Aaron Judge reward.
If there is nothing to hide, don’t you want to dispell the conspiracies we are left to create from the data samples being thrown up?
Case and point to this entire section — provide full transparency to quash any distrust that users have about the rewards algorithm.
Incentives
Now I don’t want this to come over incorrectly, so I’ll qualify this by saying:
I want Sorare to use every normal marketing trick and incentive to attract affiliates who can help onboard the next generation of users.
However, where I draw the line is learning about proposed incentives that really feels like they are being introduced to buy the market.
The reason I’ve chosen to document this is that I feel continuing down this path is a slippery slope from which there is no coming back.
If what I was shared goes ahead, this will effectively create a dual tariff to play the game at the top end of the market making progression from Rares to Super Rares and then onto Uniques even harder than it is today.
Beta or not, the only way this gets rolled out is via desperation/necessity to stimulate the market, and if that’s the case, for me it’s a huge red flag and I want no part of it (despite the huge economic gains it could yield for me).
Nicolas — I implore you to rethink this.
Sorare — The Bewildering
Deserved of its own category and this is nothing I haven’t either said directly to the team either in person or in Discord groups with others on a daily basis where Sorare employees are reading.
There is something broken in the US office.
MLB is now midway through season 2 and we’ve just finished the first season of NBA and the management of both of these sports feels negligent.
The main pillars of the game that the French office have tried and failed to perfect in 4 years are being handled exponentially worse across both of the US Sports.
Crazy Card Supply + Rewards
Unfortunately, the clock can’t be turned back, and with each passing month, I bet the team wish they could reverse the decision to change the Super Rare supply from 100 back to 10.
Managing supply is far from being the reason that the NBA and MLB markets are simply unable to get any meaningful traction, but it certainly hasn’t helped foster trust with early adopters, a lot of who came over from the football side.
It forever feels like there is a drunk driver controlling the auctions and rewards and yet despite ongoing, invaluable feedback from a passionate cross section of level headed users, nothing changes.
We are approaching the MLB All-Star break and we’ve not seen any evolution to tournaments for Super Rare cards (described this week by one user as being treated like step children).
You can’t win Unique cards in either NBA or MLB, and in sports that are more renowned for collectors, users have so far not been given any real reason to add depth to their collections.
One example to demonstrate the severity of the disconnect:
When we asked for an update on rewards we were told ‘we added 2 x T5 Super Rare rewards to the All-Star prize pool (taking the total prizes from 25 to 27) and they genuinely thought this would be a well received fix for the situation.
There are months of documented appeals to have someone in a position of authority take what we are saying seriously, but the best we have (which is appreciated) is a line of communication that has yet to push our concerns to a person empowered to make decisions.
The scariest part is if someone is reading our concerns and ignoring or disagreeing with them, then we are doomed, as this confirms they are completely out of sync with the users that are playing the game (at least the ones that are prepared to spend).
Season 2 MLB Uniques are selling for 15–30% of their Season 1 counterparts (even with merch bribes on top) and there is seemingly nothing that is going to change this.
It’s the lack of realisation that this conditions users to expect to witness the same trend in NBA Season 2 and why wouldn’t they? And this then leads to harder hitting topics such as how does the revenue justify the office, staff and IP fees committed to making this a success?
In isolation, the values managers were attributing to cards in Season 1 could be viewed in hindsight as being over exuberant (the same argument given to many of us on the football side in 2022) but had we seen the just a few of the suggested improvements and tournament expansions in-line with the overall card supply, then I’m willing to bet my collection that we wouldn’t be seeing the same numbers as we are today.
We know from the football side how challenging it is to onboard new users and maybe the FIAT wallets (discussed later) can be a catalyst to help turn things around. Let’s see.
But to wrap up this section, the most disappointing part is that the process of feeding back all these concerns started mid way through MLB Season 1.
Many of us predicted exactly how this would play out if the right changes weren’t implemented over the off-season and it’s crazy how accurate we were and saddening that users have to continue making in-game decisions based on their belief (or lack of) in management as opposed to being rewarded for intelligent scouting decisions and superior team selections.
Having seen MLB Champions and NBA Top Shot throw away golden opportunities because of their inability to listen to their communities it’s nice to at least know that our daily rants are being read, but patience is wearing thin.
We need action now as there is surely no way that the relationships between Sorare and the franchises survive if there isn’t a massive pick up in revenue (led by stronger decision making and execution).
Sorare — The Future
Ok. If you are still reading, I’ll finish with some things to look forward to!
- FIAT Wallets
- Mobile App
- The Sorare Vision (Fantasy Sports Re-imagined)
FIAT Wallets
The introduction of FIAT wallets is being hyped and they seem imminent.
If rumours are to be believed, there is an abundance of money not finding its way onto Sorare because at this current time, a large % of new users wishing to deposit, can’t.
So, this would logically suggest we could be due a spike in activity (notice I didn’t say prices) when FIAT wallets allow for those waiting to finally enter the arena!
Whilst it is reasonable to expect that this will have a short-term impact on auction prices (which at the same time increases the attractiveness of card rewards) I wonder how many Sorare users there are now that have built up a little bit too much Christmas fat on their collections… and how many will this time around take any new bull run as an opportunity to actually sell into rather than spend more.
Disclaimer: The fact remains (building on my earlier comment about ‘saving the game’) that without the current main actors (net spenders) in the game; PawelTrader, TeamBambi, Flow State, Bella Ma, JR-Duke, Pranksy there is an escalating fear that card prices could again drop off significantly.
I have no doubt this concern has been the catalyst for the cashback incentives as it would be extremely challenging for Sorare to convince a new generation of users to join if we were to experience another dramatic bear cycle.
You have to remember that in previous years Roxy Cdog, Mr. Karuppu, Adotjdot, MaxM, Monsieur Seguin, Breece, Zima Blue, Zuraw and myself all had periods where we carried the top end of the market allowing all other managers to feast.
Every year so far the flow has worked out very nicely as whenever a whale reached their quota another one miraculously appeared!
Now we approach a period where there is a new acid test.
Will the FIAT wallets and new social positivity find hungry new whales to replace the current heavy hitters who must be close to feeling they don’t require much more depth in order to compete for diminishing returns?
OR does the game continue to scale and crack the mass market and in the process dilute the existing userbase who have been driven to date by the promise of converting your scouting and fantasy skills into financial gains into a next generation userbase that come to the platform for shits n giggles and for the chance to win some merch or tickets or better still a meet and greet with one of their sporting heroes?!
Mobile App
Not much to say on this other than, we know something is coming and the driver is that it will give us fresh reasons to want to log-in daily (rather than just to set teams).
I’m naturally excited to see where this goes, partly because I’m working for a mobile gaming company and I see the enormous untapped potential for sports/web3 and mobile gaming and also because like many others I know, I’d love another reason to log-in and do something different within the Sorare ecosystem.
The Sorare Future
Looking back at the discussion points I’ve chosen to highlight in this article, if they are addressed in isolation, there is no reason why any singular frustration cannot be repaired and protected.
Fantasy Sports reimagined is the slogan and if you close your eyes and only think of the good stuff, you can’t see how Sorare don’t make it from here.
The question is will they and can they without addressing the fundamental concerns outlined?
In the coming months and years, new games will emerge and vie for the time we spend on Sorare (and SorareData!) and whilst the landscape in web3 has been pretty brutal in recent years, that’s no excuse for some of the shortcomings we are still seeing today.
I would expect the userbase to be forgiving over the remainder of 2023 as we ride high on the back of signed shirts and the renewed belief that we really are ‘just getting started’ EYES EMOJI.
But let’s just counter balance this with a look at another web3 early front runner (no — not Crypto Kitties….although…)
Axie (AXS) despite not being correlated to sport or fantasy is still a potential example to draw a comparison with.
Since the their token price dropped off from a peak of $150 to under $10, they too have released more recent upbeat news about the future and yet their token price (barometer for in-game economy) hasn’t shown any signs of a bounce back.
We can only speculate as to why, but the mindset of other gamers/investors in various crypto projects suggests if you lose trust with a previously loyal user they are more likely to view any future uptick in market sentiment as a reason to reduce their exposure to your game rather than view it with a renewed optimism that encourages more spending.
Summary of Summary
Like everyone, I can’t wait to see what comes next on Sorare. The mobile gaming app sounds cool and the introduction of the FIAT wallets can only be a net positive for the growth of the userbase.
I am for the reasons highlighted approaching all new features and iterations with calculated caution as do expect to see a lot of users sell into any noticeable increase in positive activity.
So, whilst we wait to see if Sorare can crack the formulas for mass market adoption, I’ll continue to try vocalise my concerns about the game as diplomatically as is possible whilst watching a lot more baseball thanks to my newly won MLB.tv subscription!
Oh and I’ve got something exciting I can share later in the week too, so stay tuned!
