Marketing experts or modern satirists?
Hamster Kombat is not just another game. It's a digital powerhouse driven by constant clicks, profit-seeking and online-only prospects. Since its launch on Telegram in March 2024, Hamster Kombat has attracted more than 200 million users in terms of popularity.
The speed with which he found players is perhaps most impressive. In the 77 days since going live, the Telegram-based game has clocked up to 1.8 million players every day. Its in-game mechanics have broken records on social media and YouTube channels.
Casual games: Simplicity and appeal
Hamster Kombat consists of casual games – simple, accessible and requires zero skill. These games are meant to kill time effortlessly. In Hamster Combat you can mindlessly click on the hamster avatar to collect coins.
According to data from Hamster Kombat's official Telegram channel in early June, user engagement in the game averaged more than 20 minutes per day, as measured by Google Analytics. This scale continues to increase.
Related: Is Hamster Kombat Set For A Guinness World Record?
If you multiply this 20-minute measurement by 100 million users, the total is 2 billion minutes per day as of early June 2024. In less than 30 days, the game doubled its player base to 200 million users.
Game mechanics: clicks, subscriptions and investment
The game focuses on accumulating coins and increasing profit per hour, with three main methods to achieve this goal.
Clicks: The most direct method involves clicking on the hamster. There are techniques to increase your earnings per click, but each click consumes a hamster's energy. The more you chew, the faster you burn. Reminds me of a corporate job, doesn't it? Subscriptions: Earning coins extends beyond gameplay to activities such as subscribing to channels and recruiting new players. It requires stepping out of one's comfort zone where new opportunities exist, both in life and beyond the game. Investments and Daily Combos: Strategic players can participate in investments and “Daily Combos”. Consider managing the digital stock market with a hamster. Who would have thought that your financial journey would start with an imaginary hamster?
Why do people play Hamster Kombat?
Easy money can be the primary incentive for players. The creators of Hamster Combat keep players engaged with the alluring idea that these digital coins could one day become real money.
The game's website mentions a list of potential tokens, prompting users to link their Telegram wallets to the game's bot. It seems that the developers are preparing an airdrop and onchain function for the cryptocurrency on the TON blockchain.
RELATED: Here's How Crypto Game Notcoin Got Over 30M Users – Founder
As similar projects have lined gamers' pockets this year, people have reason to believe it can fulfill their hopes. Enter Notcoin. Launched by Telegram in January 2024, NotCoin began as a clicker game, arguably more basic than Hamster Kombat itself.
The premise was simple: users clicked on their screens to earn in-game currency. In the year In the spring of 2024, Notoin held a listing event that allowed some players to convert virtual coins into real money.
Genius marketing and social media
The brains behind Hamster Kombat are marketing geniuses. They have created a virtual currency to pay for social media subscriptions, video views and attract new players. The money is virtual, but the social media followers are real.
The result? 47.4 million subscribers on Telegram, 30 million on YouTube and 10.8 million on Twitter over three months. Additionally, as Cointelegraph recently reported, the Hamster Combat YouTube channel is recognized as the fastest growing channel worldwide and is listed in the Guinness World Records.
Related: Notcoin's Explosive Growth Drives Crypto Adoption on Telegram
Importantly, the creators of the game do not ask players to invest money; All they want is players' time and participation in activities. So it's tempting to accuse game developers of cheating. Maybe it's mostly because of this that people feel safe and engaged in the game.
On the other hand, is what you're doing really wrong? They basically took people who spend their time playing games and gave them the opportunity to do the same with the chance to earn more money. It's beautifully simple.
You could argue that there is a social benefit here. Instead of wasting time or engaging in questionable activities, people can increase their income by touching virtual hamsters. It's a win-win.
The concept of UBI
But let's take a step back from the game and consider the concept of exchanging people's time for earning potential.
In a recent interview with BBC Newsnight, Professor Geoffrey Hinton expressed concern about the future of “AI taking over a lot of informal jobs”. “Even if AI boosts productivity and wealth, the money will go to the rich and not to those out of a job, which is bad for society,” he warned.
His idea is to entitle people to Universal Basic Income (UBI), a concept in which “the government pays a fixed wage to all individuals, regardless of their means.” However, many governments are simply not ready to implement a UBI system, and a UK government spokesman said there were “no plans to introduce a universal basic income” due to the high costs involved.
But what if there was a way to make money without relying on the government treasury? What if we created a system where businesses were willing to pay for the most direct actions? What if these clicker games are an alternative UBI concept?
Imaginary promises and real benefits
Let's break it down. In just a few months, Hamster Kombat has amassed a huge audience with huge earning potential. The easiest methods include advertising and surveys.
If stakeholders are willing to pay, listing can indeed happen. With growing awareness of Hamster Kombat and its in-game coins, there is an opportunity to replicate Notcoin's success. Or will we see Hamster Kombat mixed with AI in the future, creating a whole hamster universe for users?
But let's focus on the present. The creators of the game will definitely make money. Will they be participants? That was not clear. However, if similar projects are emerging and showing potential revenue, it may be worth taking a closer look at this method.
Why do we play as Hamster?
Let's take a break from existing issues and admire the boldness of the game's creators.
The growth of Hamster Kombat's social media and YouTube channels can be attributed to marketing savvy. However, the brains behind Hamster Combat aren't just marketers; They had the bold idea of making the hamster the central character. Have you ever wondered why they chose a hamster?
The choice of the hamster as the central figure in Hamster Kombat goes beyond cute critters running on wheels. It is smart to “behave like” the financial world.
Investopedia opens up the financial terminology associated with ‘lemming', in which investors make impulsive decisions driven by ‘FOMO' and the irrationality of certain market movements. Interestingly, lemmings and hamsters are distant cousins. Is this a coincidence?
In the game, players humorously begin by “shaving a hamster,” a metaphorical initiation into the realm of cut-throat finance. In financial circles, ‘hamster shaving' or ‘lemming' refers to experienced investors exploiting the herd mentality of beginners – just like how the creators of Hamster Kombat played on their users.
Remember the GameStop saga?
Let's spin this hamster wheel a little harder. Perhaps the creators of Hamster Kombat are not mocking their users; Perhaps they wholeheartedly embrace and accept them as they are.
In the year In 2021, retail investors flocked to Reddit's r/WallStreetBets subreddit, saying that rising stock prices caught institutional investors off guard. It was a common phenomenon of hobbyists outgrowing their interests—a situation where a critical mass of ‘hamsters' could sway the financial tide.
This incident highlights the irony in Hamster Kombat: Maybe it's not about dressing up the users for exploitation.
A million hamsters raised against institutions will fail, but a billion hamsters is a mighty force. Perhaps ‘shaving a hamster' is simply an amazing initiation rite, they don't benefit from admitting that real strength lies within these ‘hamsters'.
CEO Hamster: Mr Goxx
The hamster CEO character in Hamster Kombat, Mr. Goxx, may be inspired by the legendary crypto-trader hamster of 2021.
Known for navigating volatile crypto markets from the comfort of his own home and excelling at human investors, Mr. Goxx broadcast his trades on Twitch using the unique “wheel of intent” action to buy and sell.
His success in crypto, he suggests, is not just about credentials; Sometimes, the wheel of fortune is in your favor.
A simple explanation – do the founders like hamsters?
A third hypothesis suggests a direct reason for the hamster CEO's role in the game.
The creators are said to have a pet hamster identical to their favorite CEO. Paying homage to their beloved friends, they made him the CEO of a hamster in the game.
to be or not to be [a hamster]
As we continue to explore the whimsical universe of Hamster Kombat, financial satire meets digital entertainment, one question remains. To click or not to click?
In the landscape of 2024, this dilemma echoes the essence of Shakespeare's timeless question, reminding us that even in the realm of games, the choices we make can reflect life's deepest doubts.
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