Introducing New ETH Thresholds and Capped Modes for Sorare: Football 2023

Sorare: Football is excited to announce the launch of new Ethereum (ETH) thresholds and gameplay updates for 2023. The changes reflect user feedback and a continued commitment to make gameplay less complex and more balanced across divisions.

Here’s what you need to know:

Introducing ETH Thresholds for all Scarcities

Starting Jan. 30, 2023, Sorare will spread ETH thresholds across the Limited, Rare, Super Rare and Unique divisions to introduce a more intuitive and balanced gameplay experience. These thresholds will be introduced in a new Capped Mode competition for each of the above divisions. By doing this, our gameplay will become more logical and fun.

ETH thresholds & facilitating progression

Following our gameplay update in March, we shared that we would re-evaluate the future of the Sorare: Football points-based reward system (ETH thresholds) toward the end of 2022.

The initial goal for introducing ETH thresholds to the Rare Division was to build a clear path for progression for users looking to climb the game’s divisions. Each Game Week, Managers who compete in the Global All-Star Rare Division know that if they hit a certain points target, they will receive an ETH reward. Since launching ETH thresholds in October 2020, our product and community have evolved. Competitions like Specialist and Underdog have introduced new strategies, and Limited cards have offered a new, additional entry point for Sorare Managers.

Having points-based thresholds only in the Rare Division has resulted in imbalanced gameplay across scarcities. It causes friction for new Managers who have to understand and factor in the differences between the Limited division and the complexities of the Rare division. We are simplifying our gameplay.

Gameplay updates

Introducing Capped Modes

We received overwhelmingly positive feedback surrounding the Sorare: Football Specialist and Underdog competitions and the similar Capped Mode that is key to the Sorare: NBA experience. As a result, on Jan. 30, we will introduce a new Capped Mode that takes inspiration from Sorare: NBA’s model.

Capped Mode 240 rules:

• A 240-point cap for the team budget*; the points cap is based on a player’s Last-15 (L15) score
• No captain, no card bonuses
• No mixing of scarcities in the Limited, Rare and Super Rare Capped Modes
• One Super Rare allowed in the Unique Capped Mode

*The 240-points Cap for Capped Mode 240 could slightly increase or decrease based on our initial data review following successive Game Weeks with the new model.

By spreading points-based thresholds (ETH thresholds) across all scarcities except Common, we’re creating a path for progression for football fans who enjoy building teams from the ground up. With our Capped Mode 240 rules (e.g. removing the card bonus), the threshold bar is the same from Limited all the way up to Unique. And by participating in the Capped Mode 240 competition, Managers can compete for ETH and card rewards every Game Week. Card rewards are also available in Capped Mode 240.

Here’s a recap of what will introduce on Jan. 30, 2023:

Gameplay updates will also include:

• Introducing a 250-point ETH threshold for a new Capped Mode for all scarcities
• For each threshold, Managers will earn ETH at a set dollar value
• Limited Threshold: You win $5 worth of ETH if your Limited Capped Mode team achieves 250 points or more in a Game Week
• Rare Threshold: You win $50 worth of ETH for achieving 250 points or more
• Super Rare Threshold: You win $100 worth of ETH for achieving 250 points or more
• Unique Threshold: You win $250 worth of ETH for achieving 250 points or more
• Removing thresholds from the All-Star Rare competition
• Removing the 205-point threshold

As part of our commitment to continued game refinement and transparency, the threshold values (250 points and ETH rewards) will not change until at least July 2023. We will then evaluate our data and threshold values ahead of the 2023–24 European football season.

While we would love to be able to commit to a final value, we need flexibility as we scale to find the right balance across scarcities for the best gameplay experience.

Removal of Rare eligibility in the Super Rare division

Following community feedback and data review, we are removing Rare eligibility from the Super Rare division. We initially introduced Rare eligibility for the Super Rare division to facilitate progression. However, we believe recent additions to competition structure and our refocus to Capped Modes offer the kind of paths for progression our community is seeking.

Removal of Global Unique Competition

Starting Jan. 30, we are removing the Unique Competition (formerly known as “Global Unique”). When we first introduced this competition, we wanted to give more utility to Unique Cards due to the lack of competitions in that division. With the introduction of The Underdog and Specialist competitions in 2022, and forthcoming Capped Modes in 2023, the Unique Competition (formerly known as “Global Unique”) in its current format no longer fits with our vision for gameplay progression. As we continue to improve our gameplay progression, we will explore and improve the Unique Gameplay experience.

Specialist and Underdog update

Following the introduction of Capped Modes, we will remove the Specialist and Underdog Competitions on Jan. 30. The Capped Modes give more flexibility and options for roster-building and team selection. We see the mode as the future for Sorare: Football gameplay, and we’re excited about the new competitions we can introduce in addition to Capped Mode 240 across all scarcities. This includes game modes for new Managers and where only four players are scored (like the more recent Underdog competitions). This is just the beginning!

Sorare: Football in 2023

ETH Thresholds represented our first introduction of a points-based system to give Managers a clear path for progression. We want to build on the foundations of our Capped Mode to make Sorare: Football gameplay more fun and easy to understand.

We also want to reward Managers and their accomplishments with cards, unique collectibles and football experiences that can’t be found anywhere else. We’re planning more real-life rewards and one-of-a-kind experiences in 2023.

We recognize that we have been slow at times to address key elements of the gameplay experience, but we are confident we will be able to deliver on our ambition and ship more quickly in 2023. This also applies to communicating key changes; as such, we wanted to give Managers as much notice as possible ahead of our 2023 gameplay update.

Following this announcement, we understand that our community will likely have follow-up questions. As always, we will listen to your feedback and follow up with answers for trending questions and discussions.

Our goal remains for Sorare: Football to be a fun and transformative experience for football fans around the world — revolutionizing the way fans watch and cheer their teams. Our community will always be a key collaboration partner to continue improving the Sorare experience!