Zone: The Journey Till Now

Learnings from operating over 16 million games in 100k+ game tournaments and live gaming competitions at leading events.

The Zone motto has always been centered around continuous innovation and development. In the coming days, we are excited to share our plans for Zone built with real-world data, feedback from customers, and advice from stalwarts in the industry. Before diving into the future, we believed it was important for us to take stock of our assets and to acknowledge the key milestones since launch.

ZONE was designed with the aim of giving back to the gaming community. A community that is extremely passionate and one that engages most passionately with games. The core idea behind ZONE was to bridge the gap between web2 and web3 gaming by leveraging the best tools from both realms.

Our inception marked the dawn of a new era in GameFi, where we sought to blend the thrill of gaming with the transformative potential of blockchain technology.

We embarked on this journey with a groundbreaking notion that individuals should have the opportunity to monetize the time they invest in gaming, and blockchain appeared to be an ideal channel to realize this concept.

Our vision also included creating an ecosystem that simplifies gaming on-chain – where users can initiate gaming with simple logins, straightforward transaction, connect their wallet, and start earning rewards. We believe that after 16 million games we stayed true to and upheld the core beliefs that started our journey.

Our ecosystem was initially built on the robust foundations of Algorand and later expanded to the BNB Chain. The ecosystem has evolved to offer a diverse range of gaming experiences. From casual and hypercasual games to fantasy sports and AAA Esports, we have constantly endeavoured to cater to the preferences of every participant. Our extensive gift card marketplace stands as evidence of our commitment to integrating gaming with practical use cases.

While we have come a long way, our journey is far from complete. Let's take a moment to reflect on some of our accomplishments thus far, with our hope to continue serving the community.

Products and Features Built

In the initial stages of Zone, our gaming offerings began with a single game of chess, where users shared challenge links with friends to compete. Since then, Zone has evolved, introducing a variety of dynamic gaming categories for our users.

1. Hypercasual/Casual Games: Enjoy engaging titles like Candy Blast, Hoop Star, and more.
2. Skill-based Board and Card Games: Challenge your strategic prowess with classics like Chess and Carrom.
3. AAA Esports: Immerse yourself in the competitive world of AAA Esports with games like Dota2.
4. Fantasy Sports: Create and manage your fantasy teams for Cricket and Football.

Our journey from a single game of chess to a comprehensive gaming platform has seen the creation of various products and features on Zone. Some of these include:

1. Team Battles: The most popular gaming format on Zone, where users can engage in team competitions, with the winning team earning prizes.
2. Solo Challenges: Users compete individually to achieve the highest scores, earning rewards based on their rankings.
3. Player vs Player: Head-to-head competition mode in Chess, Carrom, and Pool, where the winner takes all.
4. Cricket Fantasy: Create and manage your cricket fantasy team, competing against other players.
5. Football Fantasy: Similar to cricket fantasy, users can create their football fantasy teams and compete against others.
6. AAA Games - DOTA2: A unique ladder format on Zone, where in-game activities award points, and users are rewarded based on their ranks.
7. Crypto Gift Card Marketplace: Users can purchase gift cards from over 100 brands across 100+ countries using popular cryptocurrencies.
8. Leaderboards: Track performance across the entire Zone ecosystem.
9. Referral Program: Zone's referral program allows users to earn crypto by referring others to the platform, benefiting both parties.
10. Game Farms: Innovative gaming pools where users can participate free of cost, created in partnership with reputable ecosystem projects including ZONE game farms.
11. Zone Player Profiles: Dedicated profiles for each player, showcasing gaming history.
12. Customizable Player Profiles: Users can personalize their profiles with custom profile pictures (PFPs) and usernames, visible on leaderboards.
13. Zone Chatbox: An interactive chatbox facilitating communication among gamers within the Zone platform.
14. JustPlay: A substantial incentivization program offering 150,000 Algos to reward users for their engagement on the platform.
15. Zone Trending Games: A feature highlighting the trending games on the Zone platform.
16. Multi-language Support: Zone has become a multi-language supported platform, enabling users to interact in their native languages.
17. Social Integration: Users can share their winnings on external platforms such as X, fostering community engagement.
18. AFK Exclusive Games: Exclusive features for AFK Elephants NFT holders, including Game Farms and PvP challenges.
19. Zone Free Money Games: Free games and rewards exclusively designed for new Zone users.
20. Zone Fairplay: A commitment to fair play through multiple security and fair play measures to ensure users are rewarded justly and protected from malicious actors.

Milestones, Achievements, Community Initiatives

Trading on Tinyman begins: Feb 11, 2022

AFK Elephants NFT Sale concludes: Feb 11, 2022

Zone Testnet v3 Launch (Feb 15, 2022): Introduced Play-to-Earn (P2E) Chess and custom challenges

AFK Elephants NFTs Mint: Feb 19, 2022

JustPlay Rewards Go Live: Mar 12, 2022

A massive incentivization program of 150,000 Algos as additional rewards.

200K Games Played: Mar 31, 2022

Zone Mainnet v1 Goes Live: Jul 23, 2022

1 Million Games Played: Sep 11, 2022

Zone announces Zone x Algorand PlayFi League: Nov 4, 2022

The biggest web3 gaming league ever with a $150,000 prize pool. The league ran for over 40 days with 8 epic games and daily tournaments. Zone also minted limited Zone Game Pass NFTs which were required to enter the league. The top 100 players from each game qualified for the league finals to battle it out for the grand prize. The league would see 138,000+ unique new users engage with the Algorand blockchain for the first time.

The Zone Creator Incentivization Program features 450+ creators from 16 countries

Announcing Zone Marketplace: Dec 24, 2022

Users would be able to buy in-game currencies, digital vouchers, and gift cards from the biggest brands using $ZONE and $ALGO.

40% of total daily active addresses on Algorand emerge from activity on ZONE: Jan 26, 2023

Zone x Tinyman Targeted Defi Rewards: Apr 19, 2023

Zone in Kenya on Jun 15, 2023: Zone expands its community activations in Kenya.

Zone announces War Of the MemeCoins: Jun 16, 2023

Zone Flashmob PlayFi League announced: Jul 3, 2023

Zone goes on BNB Chain: Aug 10, 2023

A Look At ZONE's Key Stats

Zone has achieved significant milestones in its operations. The total number of transactions (Txns) conducted on the platform has impressively surpassed 21.2M+. In terms of volume, there has been a substantial amount of activity, with 13M+ ZONE tokens traded. The platform's reach and engagement are further highlighted by the total number of unique wallets connected, amounting to 606K+. Additionally, the total number of games played on the platform has reached an impressive 16M+, indicating a high level of user engagement and the popularity of the gaming experiences offered by Zone.

Zone Advisors, Ecosystem Collaborations and Partnered Game Farms

We have been fortunate to have some of the greatest visionary minds of the industry as our advisors.

Joey Brander

Advisor

Joey Brander - TMRW Sports | LinkedIn

View Joey Brander’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Joey has 14 jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Joey’s connections and jobs at similar companies.

LinkedIn

Sebastien Borget

Advisor

BORGET Sebastien - The Sandbox | LinkedIn

Entrepreneur & Dad with 14 years experience in growing startups. 4 years in Blockchain… | Learn more about BORGET Sebastien’s work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn

LinkedInBORGET Sebastien

John Linden

Advisor

John Linden - Mythical Games | LinkedIn

John Linden is the CEO of Mythical Games, a game company focused on building player-owned… | Learn more about John Linden’s work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Marwan Al Zarouni

Advisor

Marwan Alzarouni - Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Professional Profile | LinkedIn

View Marwan Alzarouni’s professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the world’s largest business network, helping professionals like Marwan Alzarouni discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts, and business partners.

LinkedIn

Zone has cultivated robust partnerships within the Algorand ecosystem, establishing itself as the premier web3 gaming collaborator with esteemed projects like Pera Wallet, Folks Finance, Defly, and more. These collaborations have given rise to exclusive Game Farms, providing gamers with opportunities to cultivate tokens from our partnered projects.

• Defly
  • Defly stands out as a dynamic mobile Algorand wallet designed for trading, positioning itself as a prominent wallet within the Algorand ecosystem.

• AlgoStake
  • AlgoStake, formerly a leading non-custodial staking service on Algorand, has been an integral part of our ecosystem.
• Cometa
  • Cometa currently leads the way in providing staking and farming services on the Algorand network.

• Folks Finance
  • Folks Finance represents an innovative DeFi platform on Algorand, offering functionalities such as lending, borrowing, trading, and asset management.

• Pera Algo Wallet
  • Recognized as the foremost mobile Algorand wallet, Pera Algo Wallet plays a pivotal role in our collaborative efforts.

These partnerships not only strengthen Zone's presence in the Algorand ecosystem but also pave the way for engaging Game Farms where gamers can farm tokens tied to our esteemed partner projects.

Zone Events

Zone has organized, sponsored, and participated in some of the biggest sports and gaming events.

Zone x UKC

Kricket with a K, an action-packed thrilling competition like never before. The biggest cricket stars Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Yuvraj Singh, and many more competing with each other for the title. At UKC The Ultimate Zone Play Challenge was hosted by Zone with Chris Gayle and Mortal playing Call of Duty.

Zone x Tie Break Tens

Tie Break Tens is a quick-fire version of tennis that anyone can play. Tie Break Tens is exciting – and a great way to enjoy a lot of tennis in a short amount of time! This year Zone was the Title Sponsor for TB10s with a great lineup consisting of Gael Monfils, Taylor Fritz, and many more. Bringing further glory to the event a Zone Play Challenge was organized and it was an Honour to have H.H. Sheikh Humaid Bin Khalid Al Qasimi sheikh of Ras Al Khaimah along with Mohamed Al Banna and Adi K Mishra presenting the prize for the challenge.

Zone F1 SIM Racing Challenge Dec 2021

The Zone Sim Racing Challenge celebrates The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race on the Amara Super Yacht with some great people such as Mohamed Al Banna, Lindsay M Brewer, Pierre Gasly, Shmee150, and many more.

ZONE FIFA22 Challenge

Zone FIFA22 Challenge between Msdossary7 and Leonardo Bonucci, fighting head-on for a rare AFK Elephant NFT right before Globe Soccer Awards 2021.

Globe Soccer Awards

The 12th edition of the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards took place on December 27th, 2021, which honored the top international football talents of the season. Champions of the evening were Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappé and Alexia Putellas who bagged the best player awards. While Cristiano Ronaldo, thanks to an impressive career, was awarded the Top Goal Scorer of All Time on the night. Mohamed Al Banna & Adi K Mishra were also part of this great evening. Zone presented awards for 'The Best Esport Player & Best Coach of the Year'.

Zone At Decipher:  Nov, 2022

Zone would be invited to Decipher the second annual Algorand community gathering in Dubai. Zone hosted multiple gaming sessions at the event showcasing the platform’s new features.

Zone X Algorand in ATX

Adi K Mishra, CEO of ZONE was in conversation with Coop Daniels, Creator/Host of The ReCoop about the future of GameFi, DeFi & $ZONE at Algorand ATX! 

The Journey Ahead

Zone's journey unfolds as a testament to relentless innovation, community engagement, and a steadfast commitment to revolutionizing the gaming landscape. 

Over the past few years, our team has accumulated significant experience in the realm of sports. Our objective is to distill the finest insights from this journey and integrate them into the Zone ecosystem. Stay tuned for exciting developments!

Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/ZonePlayFi