Through the years, Zwift has established itself as the brand to beat in the indoor training space. The combination of competitive opportunities for those at all levels, community interactions, training, and free riding seems to have found the right balance for a lot of people. It doesn’t hurt that there’s also a certain amount of game design baked in. Whatever the reason though, Zwift is certainly the brand a lot of other companies are looking to take users from.
Given that every brand is only as good as its latest products, Zwift has to always be innovating. To try and balance that need for innovation with available resources, what we’ve seen Zwift adopt over the last few years is a seasonal model. Those who are also gamers might recognize this strategy as a feature of many modern games. In this case though Zwift is also marrying the strategy to both cycling seasons and the reality of weather in the northern hemisphere. That means, for better or worse, as the summer winds down, Zwift season is ramping up.
As we look into what the 2023/2024 Zwift season looks like, one of the defining characteristics is the loss of the eSports world championships. Zwift likely isn’t looking to focus on that detail specifically but it provides a touch point in the evolution of the brand. As usership exploded during COVID, Zwift was able to point to the validation of a UCI sanctioned shot at a rainbow jersey. As we move into this next season, that’s a loss that means the brand has to pivot. What comes next for Zwift?
Explore more
For many riders on Zwift, it’s not the racing or training that makes Zwift sticky. Just like summer riding, there’s a healthy contingent who just want to ride a bike and Zwift has turned that into an important part of the puzzle. It might be too cold and miserable to ride outside but if you just want to ride a bike, you can turn to the virtual world that Zwift has created over the years.
Watopia isn’t a real place on a map but it behaves like one. There are flats and there are hills and as you look out from a vantage point at the top of a rise, you can see the landscape around you. As you ride, it’s real and there are actual kilometres, or miles, between where you are and what you can see. Unlike the real world though, Zwift can expand. This year the brand is bringing you another expansion.
This October,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…