The popular Telegram based tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat has experienced a drastic decline in user base, from 300 million users in August to 41 million active users. This represents a total of 259 million users lost between August and November. Similarly, the game’s primary token, HMSTR, which started the market on September 26 at $0.009993, has now dropped 76% to only $0.002392.
The downfall of Hamster Kombat follows a majorly disappointing airdrop and token listing wherein a lot of angry users questioned the game developers for hyping their project with unrealistic expectations. Earlier this year, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov described Hamster Kombat as “the fastest-growing digital service in the world.”
Additionally, he asserted that it is part of a new era of tiny apps that will make blockchain accessible to the general public.
Between Hamster Kombat and Nigeria
Much controversy has ensued on the platform owing to its token airdrop. The Vanguard reported discontent among Nigerian players, as many have been playing the game for several months now, only to find themselves able to sell the HMSTR tokens for single digits.
The game’s administration implemented an anti-cheat program, which banned 2.3 million users and seized 6.8 billion HMSTR tokens. The game has drawn the attention of top government officials. Iran’s military deputy chief was worried, especially during elections, that ballots would get influenced because of the game, stating that it is a “soft tool” that the West uses to erode Iran’s religious regime.
In Russia, there was outrage from the armed forces that led to the State Duma Committee chairman being pressured to get the game banned, calling it a fraud. More recently, on October 12, Hamster Kombat published a disclaimer separating itself from Gotbit, which had just been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of providing “market manipulation as a service.”
Hamster Kombat is ready with season 2, however it remains to be seen whether the gaming project developers would be able to sustain that trust level in the global gaming community.
Also Read: “Hamster as Whales”: Take a sneak peek of Hamster Kombat Season 2
