Highlights

• SportsHero (ASX:SHO) conducted a five-day soft launch of its HeroPlay Gaming Universe platform timed to the MLBB MPL Indonesia Season 18 Playoffs, attracting 80,000+ site visits and 215,000+ page views.

• 9,322 new registered users signed up over the five days at an 11.6% visit-to-registration conversion rate — which the company notes is in the top 10% of industry benchmarks.

• 3,728 users (40% of registered users) redeemed in-game rewards, demonstrating low friction despite requiring a unique gamer ID.

• Full product integration with existing supplier partners is planned over the coming weeks, expanding HeroPlay to thousands of products including gaming top-ups, ePINs, in-app purchases and global payments.

SportsHero Limited (ASX:SHO), an ASX-listed digital gaming and e-sports Business focused on the South East Asian market, has reported the results of its five-day soft launch of the HeroPlay Gaming Universe platform. The soft launch, timed to coincide with the MLBB (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) MPL Indonesia Season 18 Playoffs — one of the most watched gaming events in Indonesia — was designed as a focused proof-of-concept to validate the platform's robustness, user Acquisition model and conversion metrics under real-world conditions.

Soft Launch Results and Validation

Over the five days from 4-8 November 2026, the HeroPlay platform received more than 80,000 site visits generating over 215,000 page views, with no technical issues or interruptions observed — demonstrating the platform's robustness under meaningful traffic. 9,322 new registered users signed up, achieving an 11.6% visit-to-registration conversion rate that the company describes as being in the top 10% of industry benchmarks for similar platforms. Of those registered users, 3,728 (approximately 40%) redeemed in-game rewards, demonstrating a low-friction user experience despite the requirement to enter a unique gamer ID to claim the reward. The platform also saw more than 600 purchase attempts over the five days, with an average attempted purchase value of approximately $6.69.

Intentionally Narrow Scope and Key Tests

The soft launch was deliberately narrow in scope: one event, one game title, one product, without the benefit of integrated Direct Carrier Billing — the core monetisation mechanism designed for the full commercial launch. The company identified four specific tests: whether gamers would move to a new platform outside their usual channels; whether they would claim a gift; whether they would browse and attempt to purchase other products; and how well organic traffic converted. All four tests were described as successfully validated. Community and partner referrals drove 68% of consumer sessions, suggesting the viral and partner-led acquisition model is effective.

Next Steps: Full Product Integration and Commercial Launch

Following the successful soft launch, SportsHero plans to integrate its full range of supplier partner products into the HeroPlay platform over the coming weeks. When fully populated, HeroPlay is expected to contain thousands of products including gaming top-up vouchers, ePINs, direct-to-consumer webshops, in-app purchases and global payment capabilities — giving the platform exposure to 100% of the addressable gaming commerce market, not just the voucher segment tested in the soft launch. The integration of Direct Carrier Billing, which the company believes will substantially reduce the cart abandonment observed during the soft launch (where "insufficient funds" was the main reason), is a key upcoming enhancement. The company also emphasised HeroPlay as a strategic opportunity for telco partners across South East Asia and beyond.

Key Insights

The 11.6% visit-to-registration conversion rate in the top 10% of industry benchmarks is a meaningful validation for a first soft launch, suggesting the platform design and user experience are genuinely compelling to the gaming audience.

The 40% reward Redemption rate among registered users indicates the gamer community is actively engaged with the platform beyond mere registration, which is a positive sign for future monetisation.

The absence of Direct Carrier Billing during the soft launch means the results likely understate the platform's full monetisation potential — the most common reason for cart abandonment (insufficient funds) is precisely what DCB is designed to solve.

The commercial opportunity described is substantial — the global gaming industry is estimated at approximately $205 billion, with in-app purchases ($103 billion) and Advertising ($62 billion) the largest segments, suggesting HeroPlay's voucher-first entry is a beachhead into a much larger addressable market.