We know that it feels like a lifetime ago that Virtue provided the last update, and we apologize for the delay. Our team has been hard at work building a new and improved Virtue gaming platform that we believe will be a game-changing application that will allow our community to grow and thrive as we move into the end of 2022 and beyond. We provide more information on Virtue 2.0 in our update today.
We want to thank all our supporters and dedicated players who have participated in our play-to-earn campaigns and helped us collect important insights on the P2E model and the strategy. We appreciate your input, activity, and invaluable feedback.
Before we get into Virtue 2.0, we’ll provide a brief summary of our Gold Bankroll builder which ended on July 3rd.
Gold Bankroll Builder Stats
Our last promotion which ran for four weeks from June 6th - July 3rd was invaluable as it provided unique insight as we continue to refine our P2E gamification model:
Active Players
- Silver Leaderboard Unique Players: 561
- Gold Leaderboard Unique Players: 445
- Overall Unique Players: 657
- Average Daily Active Players: 200
Prizes
- Unique Players who earned GOLD: 348
- Amount of GOLD earned: 91,700
- Average GOLD earned per player: 140
- Average GOLD earned per gold earner: 264
Gaming Volume
- Total Cash Hands Played (final week): 13,294
- Total SNG Played: 4,782
- Total Silver LB Tournaments played: 1,413
- Total Gold LB Tournaments played: 949
The main goals for this promotion were to:
- To test a “freemium” P2E model: All new and current players could play for free and could compete for prizes in our Silver weekly leaderboard - while “premium” players (those who submitted GOLD for an NFT Avatar whitelist slot - and were granted bonus chips) were able to participate in both our Silver and Gold weekly Leaderboards.
- To test VPP staking utility for bonus chips: All players who participated in our VPP staking program were granted bonus chips
This test was successful in that we had over 400 NFT whitelist pre-purchases, we had over 100 unique players who staked VPP - and overall had 9.3 million VPP staked across our three staking pools.
Moreover - we learned that a large percentage of our player base is willing to purchase an NFT for premium access to prizes and (in the future) premium benefits on the platform. This learning will be integral to our growth strategy as we move into the end of 2022.
$GOLD Redemption
Players will be able to begin redeeming their GOLD for USDT and NFT avatars starting tomorrow August 4th. Players have the opportunity to utilize their GOLD for the following:
- $GOLD table games (real-money locations only)
- Redeem for NFT Avatar
- Redeem for USDT
Players can take advantage of these utilities. Players DO NOT have to redeem or use all of their $GOLD. They are welcome to retain their $GOLD in their accounts and continue to accrue $GOLD during our future promotions.
NFT Avatars
We are pleased to announce we are nearing the completion of our limited genesis set of NFT avatars. 5,500 NFTs have been produced in partnership with our team pro - Phil Ivey, and other partners.
As a reminder our NFT avatars will have the following utility:
- Chips Bonus: All players who exchange 150 GOLD for an Avatar will receive a chip bonus for our future promotions
- VIP Access: Players with NFT avatars will be eligible to participate in exclusive events - including competitions to earn a spot to play in Celebrity Tournaments, and be invited to a private Discord channel where players can speak directly with Virtue's team pros and other celebrity partners.
- Digital Passport to Metaverse Poker: NFT avatars will be portable across Virtue's real-money and play-to-earn games in our Metaverse poker game (coming later this year).
- (New) Bonus Multi-Table tournament Tickets: NFT avatars will receive tournament tickets that can be used to enter in MTTs with real-cash prizes (more information below)
We apologize for the delay in launching our NFT Avatars - however, it is paramount that our genesis collection launch is launched at the most optimal strategic time.
The goals for the launch of the genesis NFT avatar collection are to:
- Enhance the P2E experience
- Grow the Virtue player community
These goals can best be accomplished by selling the NFT avatars when (1) they can be immediately utilized on the platform and (2) there is sufficient marketing to ensure the collection will sell out, growing the core Virtue player base.
Our goal is to launch our NFT avatars in the coming months in tandem with the launch of Virtue’s revamped gaming platform.
Virtue Metaverse Poker Update
We are pleased to announce that the development of Virtue’s metaverse gaming product is well underway. Virtue has partnered with a large landowner in Decentraland and in a joint venture will launch our metaverse gaming platform later this year.
As a reminder - Virtue’s NFT avatars will be portable across both our 2D and Virtue’s 3D metaverse game experiences.
We will provide additional updates with regards to our progress and an estimated launch date in the ensuing months.
Justice VPP Staking
Due to increasing demand from several VPP stakeholders - and to give new and current holders an opportunity to stake their VPP tokens to earn rewards - we’ve decided to add an additional Justice Staking Pool next week - open to all interested participants.
Our new staking pool will open next Monday, August 8th on the ETH network. Participants are required to submit 200,000 VPP tokens, and the staking pool will be open for two weeks until August 22nd. The staking pool will run 180 days until February 4th, 2023. Early withdrawal is available on January 3rd, 2023.
Interested participants can go to: https://virtuegaming.com/tokeneconomy/staking to participate beginning next Monday, August 8th at 1400 UTC.
Our team is also working on streamlining the Governance Council for better flow and transparency - our goal is to launch an improved governance system in the near future.
Q3 + Q4 Goals and Strategy
Virtue Poker has been live for real money for over 14 months, while Virtue Gaming has been live for over 7 months. And prior to our launch for real money last May 2021 - the Virtue team ran a 24-month free-to-play beta.
Over the course of the last 4 years - our team has launched numerous promotions - and then have analyzed our post-campaign results - working to provide the optimal game experience and incentive structure to our players.
The main areas for improvement are:
- We need to make the app easier to sign-up. We’ve consistently noticed that a large percentage of website traffic does not convert into application downloads. This is due to two main issues: (1) the app can only be downloaded via desktop - mobile website traffic can only sign-up for our email list (2) users must add a self-custody wallet address in order to begin playing. These two requirements have led to a significant drop-off in our onboarding funnel.
- The platform does not offer enough features and game formats. While Virtue has built numerous features and launched cash game, sit-and-go, and multi-step tournaments - we’ve found that consistently players find issues with the lack of current features and most importantly the lack of multi-table tournaments. This makes player retention more difficult - and limits our ability to launch new and engaging promotions and promotions that utilize multi-table tournaments.
- The player experience (UX) from sign-up, through gameplay, to earning bonuses and getting paid needs to be improved. Virtue has always struggled with seamless account verification and timely payouts for promotion rewards. Moreover - the gamification around our loyalty and bonus program is lacking. This makes it difficult to retain players and ensure players' experience exceeds that of our competitors.
Therefore - Virtue has taken the decision to pause new promotions and relaunch Virtue 2.0 this fall with the following core features that we believe will allow us to address our core constraints to take our platform and community to the next level:
- Mobile + Desktop Compatible: A device agnostic sign-up and registration flow (both mobile and desktop) that will NOT require a player to add a wallet prior to getting started playing, with gameplay accessible across both mobile and desktop
- Full Feature Set: The platform will include a full feature set including most importantly multi-table tournaments
- Personalized Challenges: A personalized achievements section that players can compete for to earn rewards and prizes
- NFT Gamification: An NFT-based gamification and rewards system. This system will include NFT avatars, avatar upgrades, NFT-based loot box side games, and more.
- Globally Accessible: Virtue 2.0 will be accessible via our P2E experience in several new markets coming this fall including the USA and many Western European countries.
New players should be able to sign-up from any device and be accessible to users who may not be crypto-savvy. A new player who signs up should have automated marketing communication taking them through their new player journey. Current players should have perks, bonuses, and incentives that are individualized to them, and our perks and bonus payouts should be automated to create an improved player experience. And most importantly our player experience should be differentiated via a unique gamification and rewards system that allows players to buy or sell in-game assets on decentralized NFT marketplaces.
The most exciting news is that Virtue 2.0 will launch this fall 2022 including the features listed above.
Be patient. Get hyped. And stay tuned.
W E W I L L S E E Y O U O N T H E T A B L E S S O O N
The Virtue Poker Team
NFT FAQ
How do I reserve an NFT avatar?
- Log in to the Virtue application
- Go to the cashier
- Navigate to the GOLD redemption page
- Click “redeem for NFT”
- That’s it!
Players will receive an email confirming they’ve successfully reserved their NFT avatar.
I don’t have 150 $GOLD, can I still buy an NFT avatar?
The genesis mint of Virtue NFT Avatars is addressed to active players who are a part of our community. If you haven’t collected enough $GOLD by competing in our previous promotions but have some balance, you can play on our $GOLD tables to earn more (real-money players only).
When will I receive my NFT avatar(s)?
Virtue NFT avatars minting page will be live together with the new offering launch in Q4 2022.
How will I claim my NFT?
Those who reserve their NFT avatar will be able to navigate to https://virtuegaming.com/nft-avatars to claim their NFT to their Source of Funds address. More information will be provided closer to the mint date.
What benefits on Virtue do I receive prior to claiming my NFT avatar?
All Virtue players who own Virtue NFT Avatar will get premium access to our offering and promotions. Some games will be available only to Virtue NFT Avatar holders. Players will be able to display their NFT as an avatar on the tables and in the Discord community. More information will be provided closer to the launch date.
After I receive it, how can I use the NFT avatar in the Virtue application?
Players will be required to stake their NFT avatar to continue to receive bonuses and other perks as soon as NFTs are delivered to pre-purchasers.