Why ‘X Empire’ Telegram Players Are Complaining About Elon Musk’s AirDope

Telegram's tap-to-get game X Empire will launch its X simulation on the Open Network (TON) on Thursday, but the reveal of weather classifications has sparked outrage from players who say they are being left out of the prize pool. And some of them are talking about Elon Musk.

X Empire revealed the allocation on Friday to reveal how many X Tokens players will receive and be able to trade on October 24th. The Elon Musk-themed game also allows players to pre-select their own way out. Guard Ton wallet or centralized exchange like OKX or Bybit.

However, many players have taken to social media to complain that they have been kicked out of the airline for unclear reasons. On Saturday, the game's creator, Alex Falcone, responded to a complaint by Telegram Post, writing that “active friends” are the most important criteria in the final weather calculation, alongside overtime marks and mission completion.

“Anyone who has really invested time in the X Empire has had a chance to get off,” he said.

Falcon revealed that 6 million XEmpire players will be included in the airdrop. X Empire has previously claimed to have attracted more than 50 million total players, and Telegram app data suggests about 34 million active players last month.

Players complained that the “active friends” list should not have had such a significant impact on weather classification. Some players tweeted at Musk himself, who had nothing to do with the game.

But it makes sense why some players would think so. The game mainly features cartoonish characters inspired by Musk, and originally launched under the name “Musk's Empire”—but soon switched gears, presumably to avoid legal issues.

A player on Musk “rejected people, completely fraudulent and unfair.”

“Totally scam project sponsored in your name,” another player tweeted to Musk. “X Empire. Elon Musk. Musk Empire. Do an investigation on the X Empire team. They're like scammers.”

Mook has not responded as of this writing.

X Empire isn't the first Telegram game to face backlash over its climate calculations. Last month's Katizen and Hamster Combat Airdrops both felt that the relationship between the placement criteria was misleading and that players got enough pressure or that the final reward wasn't enough for the amount they played.

On this occasion, X Empire tried to allay players' fears by saying that the X token will be useful in future applications from the team, including a news feed and a sleep tracking app. Players of the game will receive a share of tokens from other upcoming Telegram games, the developers said.