Hamster Kombat, the tap-to-earn Telegram mini-game that once boasted over 300 million registered users in July, has witnessed a progressive flop since its launch. The project has lost 260 million active users, and its monthly player count is currently below 50 million.
Telegram-based tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat has witnessed a decline in traction after the anticipated airdrop campaign failed to meet players’ expectations. The project once boasted 300 million registered accounts but has since lost about 260 million active players.
HMSTR is down 76% as the user count drops
A chart shared by Protos indicates the game had 300 million monthly active users in July, and since August, the number has declined below 100 million players. The game’s monthly active player count sits at 41 million at the time of this publication.
HMSTR, the game’s native token, is down about 76% from a high of $0.009993 recorded at launch to $0.002392 today.
The game’s developers pulled such numbers by focusing on community engagement and rewarding users with new referrals in the ecosystem. In July, the game’s rising popularity prompted a comment from Pavel Durov, Telegram founder. Durov wrote on his Telegram channel that a new era was unfolding. He cited Hamster Kombat’s daily user inflow of 5 million and its 239 million total users count then. Durov termed the game the fastest-growing digital service in the world.
“…A new wave of mini-apps on Telegram is coming, and Hamster Kombat is now leading the pack. Its amazing growth shows the viral potential of the Telegram mini app platform.”
Pavel Durov
However, controversies began surrounding the project as its launch date got closer. On September 23rd, days before the launch, Hamster Kombat announced it had banned 2.3 million users and recovered 6.8 billion HMSTR tokens.
Hamster Kombat airdrop disappoints players
Hamster CEOs accused the project of banning legitimate players who worked hard to get their rewards. One user expressed their concerns and disappointment by stating that they played the game for three months straight but were later declared cheaters.
Other users criticized the game for lack of utility. Some critics argued that the project was using its following to gain YouTube revenue by posting videos of news events.
Many players felt disappointed in Hamster Kombat’s airdrop after the project launched. Hamster CEOs who were promised financial freedom by playing the game and referring new users could only sell their months’ worth of proceeds from playing the game for single digits.
The game’s popularity also caught the attention of governments around the world. For instance, Russia’s State Duma committee chairperson proposed banning the game, calling it a scam. In Iran, the military deputy chief said the game was a huge distraction designed by the West to divert Iranians from the country’s elections.
Despite the poor performance, the anonymous team behind the project’s development continues to push news videos. The latest news episode dropped on October 31st. The project also recently distanced itself from Gotbit and said that it has never worked with the market marker before.
U.S. regulators accused Gotbit of manipulating the price of several tokens, such as Bonk and Neiro, to increase their value and deceive investors. The CEO of Gotbit was arrested in Portugal.
