VBA season0: First Half Recap and Sneak Peeks

GMs — we’re three months into the VBA s0 alpha and wanted to share a quick first half recap on the state of the VBA so far and a little sneak peek into what’s to come in season0 (s0) moving forward.

s0 So Far

The Virtual Basketball Association (VBA) is the Basketball League of the Metaverse, a new kind of fantasy basketball game that allows GMs to play in competitive head to head games with their own team of unique players. We were inspired by basketball manager games like NBA 2K MyGM and Daily Fantasy Basketball and are combining elements of those games in a fun new format enabled by web3 technology.

To begin that journey, our s0 alpha was designed to be an exploratory period for GMs and the VBA team to quickly try new things, learn, improve and shape the future of the VBA together.

We’re thankful for our GMs’ support, and in the past 3 months, we’ve come a long way together:

1. We’ve added Cash Leagues, where GMs are able to raise the stakes by entering contests with SOL prize pools.
2. We’ve established DIMES, our in-game off chain currency, and started building the supporting ecosystem around it through our DIMES wallet and Box Office.
3. We’ve enhanced the strategic options for our GMs by refining the game engine with improvements such as interior help defense, adjusted play styles, and out of position improvements.

We’re just getting started, and are very excited for the upcoming features we have planned for the remainder of season0 and future seasons.

What’s Next?

Looking ahead, we can expect the s0 alpha period to run through early 2023. Our approach has always been to move fast and iterate and believe a few more months will be necessary as we create a solid foundation before we enter the season1 beta.

As a preview for features upcoming in the months ahead, we plan to:

1. Launch a feature designed to onboard new GMs with non-NFT players that help them learn how to be part of the VBA.
2. Mint the remainder of the s0 players (14,000). Users will be able to buy players or different packs with SOL.
3. Introduce new game modes that try to cater towards more levels of competition and new ways for GMs to earn rewards.

More about these features will be revealed closer to their respective launch times later this season.

Upcoming Events

We’re excited to share that we’re planning a few events for our GM community:

1. VBA All-Star: The first ever VBA All-Star event will take place October 5 (w15) with activities leading into it.
2. Top Teams Tournament: At the end of season0, there will be a tournament of the top teams, with a Solana prize pool from our season0 rewards pool.

More details to come soon. Let’s ball!