What’s Next for ‘Hamster Kombat’ After Airdrop? Expanding Beyond Telegram

As its eagerly awaited airdrop approaches, tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat has revealed an ambitious roadmap for the year following its token launch on The Open Network (TON). Plans include NFTs and new games—and starting to distance itself from Telegram exclusivity.

Hamster Kombat’s tap-to-earn game has been hugely popular attracting over 300 million players as gamers tapped their screens via a Telegram mini app in an attempt to gain a slice of a future airdrop. Approximately 130 million players will receive HMSTR when the airdrop goes live on Thursday, but what happens after that?

The anonymous team behind Hamster Kombat has ambitious plans, according to a roadmap shared with Decrypt on Wednesday. In October, Hamster Kombat plans to launch the second season of the game and will look to rapidly expand its game library with new titles—similar to what tap-to-earn predecessor Notcoin has done.

The developers are also looking to integrate “external payment systems” to help create an on-ramp into the game. This will help once, in November, the game will integrate NFTs into the game. In the same month, Hamster Kombat will also look to publish its first “cohort of games” created by third-party developers.

These games are likely to be found within the upcoming Hamster Kombat progressive web app (PWA) for iOS, Android, and desktop—PWAs are websites that behave like regular apps. This would mark the start of the game becoming less reliant on Telegram, the app it grew from.

“Telegram will always be a crucial part of Hamster Kombat and its ecosystem of products. Still, we are looking to expand in order to capture the audience that isn’t on Telegram yet,” the team told Decrypt via email. “Ultimately, we see it as a positive development both for Hamster Kombat and Telegram itself as a platform for mini apps, since it will bring additional exposure.”

The shift comes amid a turbulent time for Telegram and TON. The messaging app’s CEO and co-founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France last month and faced multiple charges including enabling the use of his platform for drug trafficking, organized fraud, and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Since then, the app has agreed to share user data with authorities in some circumstances.

The Open Network, meanwhile, has surged in 2024 on the back of games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin, but the network collapsed twice in one week late last month due to sizable demand for another token airdrop claim. TON Core developers have warned that the Hamster Kombat drop could cause similar network turbulence ahead.

Still, Hamster Kombat’s plans do not slow down from December and beyond, following that first step away from Telegram exclusivity. Per its roadmap, Hamster Kombat aims to launch a dedicated ad network, an NFT marketplace, two “major game titles” with HMSTR integration, and start the first “competitive clan championship.” And that only brings us to next spring.

“We’re also planning to use ad revenue to buy back tokens from the market for regular distribution to players and token burns,” the team explained in a press release. 

In the summer, Hamster Kombat aims to launch the second phase of its airdrop—this will likely mark the end of season two—and allow for user-generated content within its ecosystem. Finally, next autumn, the team will look to move beyond its PWA by integrating directly with desktop games.

“We are building a real business, not yet another crypto project.” Hamster Kombat’s team said in a press release, further pledging to “onboard the next billion users into Web3.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward