Telegram-based games like Hamster Kombat are setting the stage for true mainstream Web3 gaming adoption.
Viral clicker game Hamster Kombat is among the “first generation” of games to facilitate large-scale Web3 gaming adoption, according to Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands.
Siu told Cointelegraph in an interview:
“With platforms like Telegram and TON [The Open Network], you have the ability to boost that [Web3 adoption] because they don’t have those restrictions. Those clear games are the demonstration of the first generations of games that will bring us mass adoption into Web3.”
Hamster Kombat surpassed 300 million players at the end of July as it’s gearing up for what it claimed to be the “largest airdrop in the history of crypto.”
Hamster Kombat is reportedly the third-fastest app in the world to reach 150 million users. The game might even be on its way to securing a Guinness World Record.
Telegram Crypto Games: Revolution or Scam? Source: YouTube
Related: Telegram could onboard the first billion cryptocurrency users — X10 CEO
Hamster Kombat and Telegram Mini Apps are a “Trojan horse” for mass adoption
Telegram and TON are crucial for bolstering mass Web3 adoption due to offering a new distribution platform for Web3 games, which previously didn’t exist, explained Siu:
“Distribution vectors for playing these games have now expanded. Apple, Google, Facebook and Steam, they wouldn’t let us publish these games.”
Others also believe in Telegram’s onboarding potential. Notably, Telegram could be a “Trojan horse” for mass crypto adoption, according to Justin Hyun, TON Foundation’s director of investments.
Hyun believes that onboarding the next 500 million users will require simple apps with “actual usability,” like blockchain-based Telegram Mini Apps.
Web3 gaming, trojan horse for adoption. Source: Cointelegraph
Related: Binance CEO calls Gambaryan’s treatment ‘inhuman’ as disturbing new video emerges
Hamster Kombat airdrop: What we know so far
Hamster Kombat is preparing to launch the “largest airdrop in the history of crypto.”
At the beginning of August, the viral clicker game revealed that all in-game activities will count toward accumulating more airdrop points.
HMSTR Airdrop Tab. Source: Hamster Kombat
The updated airdrop tab includes six different sections for accruing tokens, including the player’s passive income and completion of earn tasks, achievements, Telegram subscription and keys, and referrals for friends.
However, the airdrop eligibility will also depend on the game cycle, community interactions, overall social activity and the quality of the invited players, a Hamster Kombat spokesperson told Cointelegraph:
“More players within the game will lead to higher capitalization and, consequently, larger rewards for everyone. The upcoming HMSTR airdrop is set to be the largest in crypto history. And we don’t have any venture capital investors. The only way to get the token is to play.”
However, organizing the largest airdrop in crypto history could prove challenging. It would need to surpass Uniswap’s UNI (UNI) airdrop, which distributed over $6.43 billion — making it the most valuable crypto airdrop to date, according to CoinGecko.
Top crypto airdrops. Source: CoinGecko
Beyond the airdrop, Hamster Kombat has already set the record for the fastest product to reach 100 million users in just two months.
Magazine: Clicker games to fade post-airdrop, Is Hamster Kombat any good? Web3 Gamer