Virtually Human Studio (VHS), the minds behind the once-thriving horse racing game Zed Run, have announced the beta launch for their new title, Zed Champions. This move marks a major shift for the company, which is looking to stage a comeback in web3 gaming after the decline of its predecessor.

A New Chapter: Zed Champions Steps In

After six years, Zed Run was sunset on February 28th, 2025, bringing an end to the digital horse racing era that saw over 420,000 virtual horses bred and $400 million in transactions. With Zed Champions, VHS is betting on a fresh, skill-based gameplay experience that focuses on strategy, progression, and digital ownership.

"Zed Champions represents our commitment to innovation, accessibility, and long-term sustainability in web3 gaming," said VHS CEO Nir Efrat. "We've reimagined digital horse racing to create a skill-based experience that rewards strategic thinking while remaining accessible to all players, whether they're web3 experts or newcomers."

What's New in Zed Champions?

Unlike its predecessor, which was heavily tied to speculative NFT trading, Zed Champions introduces a more structured and competitive ecosystem:

  • Automated 24/7 Racing: Players no longer need to manually schedule races. Events are continuous, keeping the competition active at all times.
  • Dynamic Auction Breeding: A new breeding system that allows users to bid on studs using the $ZED token.
  • Augment System: Horses can now be enhanced using three types of augments—Passive, Situational, and Progressive—to boost performance.
  • Leaderboard Tracking: Racehorses will earn points based on their results, affecting their rankings and matchmaking.
  • $ZED Token Integration: The in-game economy is powered by $ZED, used for breeding, race entries, and marketplace transactions.

With these changes, VHS hopes to create a more engaging and sustainable gaming environment.

The Transition: No Carryover for Zed Run Horses

The most controversial part of this transition is that Zed Run NFTs will not transfer over to Zed Champions. This move has sparked backlash among long-time players, who invested heavily in the older game's digital horses.

To ease the transition, VHS is offering a month-long window for Zed Run players to claim, buy, or trade reward badges. These badges will carry over to Zed Champions, making holders eligible for new horses.

Virtually Human Studio's Journey: From Success to Rebuilding

Founded in 2019 by Chris Laurent, Rob Salha, Geoff Wellman, and Chris Ebeling, VHS once led the NFT gaming space. Zed Run launched in 2019 as a web3 game powered by Polygon, offering gas-free transactions and real digital ownership.

But the collapse of NFT markets and economic downturns hit the project hard. As horse prices plummeted and community engagement waned, VHS struggled to maintain its momentum. The team even tried multiple updates to revive Zed Run, but as Efrat admitted, "The company got really confused, like all of the web3 products at the time, and it lost users."

Now, with Zed Champions, VHS hopes to reclaim its status by shifting focus toward competitive gaming rather than speculative NFT trading.

What's Next?

With the beta test coming up soon, VHS is looking to gather player feedback and refine the game before its full launch. The team has also introduced Zed Picks, a mobile app designed to bring in casual players by allowing them to spectate races, cheer for horses, and win prizes—without having to engage with blockchain tech.

Furthermore, VHS is making a major move by transitioning from the Polygon network to Base, Coinbase's Layer-2 blockchain. This shift is set to provide a more stable and scalable infrastructure for the game.

By April 2025, Zed Champions will fully roll out its racing ecosystem. With a revamped structure, continuous race events, and a fairer breeding system, VHS is betting on the future of digital horse racing.

Whether it will succeed or not depends on whether players, both old and new, embrace this rebooted version.