Hamster Kombat Lose 259M Users (and Counting) After Controversial Airdrop

Tap-to-earn Telegram game Hamster Kombat has experienced a significant decline in user engagement amid controversies surrounding its airdrop program, which concluded a few months ago.

According to data from Protos, the clicker game’s user base has dropped by a staggering 259 million from over 300 million in July to just 41 million this month. The major decline has been attributed to the project’s controversial token airdrop program.

Controversial Airdrop 

After promising an enticing financial reward, the Hamster team failed to meet users’ expectations during the token airdrop. Hamster completed its first season in September, followed by the airdrop of HMSTR tokens to users. 

The airdrop, executed after multiple delays, faced heightened criticism from players and the crypto community, with some terming it one of the worst airdrops in crypto history.

Many have expressed concerns over the game’s reward distribution after months of consistent tapping and earning rewards. According to players, rewards ranged from $1 to $4. 

The Hamster team even blocked some players from receiving rewards. They implemented a strict anti-cheat system, which disqualified about 2.3 million accounts from the airdrop. They also implemented a vesting without informing players. To make things worse, airdrop participants faced challenges selling their HMSTR tokens at the time, as exchanges like Binance require a minimum transaction value of $5.

Price Struggle 

HMSTR also experienced a sharp decline of up to 60% shortly after the airdrop. Since then, the token has dropped by 76%, from $0.009993 to $0.002392 at press time.

While Hamster has lost many players, the team is strategically moving to re-engage and reward loyal players with additional incentives in another airdrop program next year. They also have an ambitious roadmap for next year, with new features planned for Season 2. This includes a staking-like system, NFT integration, and expansion beyond Telegram.