Open beta, fair premium discussion
Build your cycling team. Race the world. Back a fair manager game.
Cycling Zone is a browser-based cycling manager game where tactics, long-term planning and community rivalry matter. I'm exploring premium, but the rule is simple: the game must be fair for everyone. You cannot pay for better riders, faster training, or better results.
- Open beta
- Fair premium
Cycling Zone must stay fair
Premium can unlock identity, convenience, analytics and ways to back development. It cannot unlock better race results, faster training, stronger riders, transfer advantages, improved scouting odds or hidden power.
This promise appears here and near any future pricing info. It's the most important trust message in the whole premium conversation.
What might fair premium look like?
Nothing here is final. The cards below show one possible set of monthly prices. For the Premium tier I'm weighing €3.89 / €6.57 / €9.25/mo, and joining the waitlist helps me decide.
Free Manager
New / casual players
- Full competitive access
- Nothing cut from the core game
- Free players stay competitive, forever
Premium
Engaged players
- Premium badge on profile
- Profile themes + cosmetics
- Discord role
- Saved filters + extended history
Pro Analyst
Hardcore managers
- Advanced analytics
- Rider comparison
- Scouting dashboards
- Transfer watchlists + data export
Patron
Superfans / early believers
- Founder badge + cosmetics
- Dev Q&A
- Roadmap votes (non-balance)
- Credit in the game
Where does the Founder waitlist fit?
Founder is not a separate paid tier. It's an early waitlist status for the first 100 players who want to be considered if payment opens later. Joining is non-binding, and you're charged nothing today.
What may be sold, and what must never be sold
The brand promise as concrete rules. Rock-solid.
May be sold
- Premium badge
- Profile themes / cosmetics
- Discord role
- Saved dashboards
- Extended history
- Analytics & rider comparison
- Data export
- Roadmap votes (non-balance)
May NOT be sold (pay-to-win)
- Faster training
- Better race outcomes
- Larger transfer budget
- Better scouting odds
- Exclusive ranked races for paying users
- Paid currency that alters balance
- Power features
- Votes that change balance / economy
What do Founder waitlist members get?
Founder status is identity and a thank-you, never competitive advantage. The final list is decided together with the community before payment opens.
Permanent founder badge
Identity mark that can't be bought later.
Discord Founder role
Strong community signal.
Profile theme or cosmetic frame
Early-founder value.
Name on the Founder Wall
For early believers.
Monthly dev updates
Builds trust + transparency.
Vote on non-balance roadmap topics
Never about balance or competitive advantage.
Join the Founder waitlist
It's NOT binding. You're charged nothing today. The goal is to see whether there is enough interest in financially supporting the project before I add payments.
Questions I've heard
Is Cycling Zone becoming pay-to-win?
No. The competitive core must stay fair. Premium is about identity, convenience, analytics and ways to back development.
Can free players compete?
Yes. Free players have full access to the competitive core game. That's the foundation of fairness.
Can premium users buy stronger riders or faster training?
No. Those features must not be sold. Period.
Why ask about premium now?
To hear whether Cycling Zone can become sustainable before I build the wrong thing. Better to learn before investing.
Is payment live now?
No. Waitlist first, payment later, and only if the community response is positive. You're charged nothing when joining.
What happens if people don't want premium?
Then premium waits, and focus returns to retention, gameplay and community growth. That's the whole point of asking first.