When the Hamster Kombat team said they would be conducting the largest airdrop in cryptocurrency history, the community buzzed with excitement. Following its launch in March 2024, the game quickly attracted 300 million users, of which 102 million were regular monthly players. In August, Hamster lost 15 million players due to several controversies.
However, Hamster soon attracted 104 active monthly users after announcing the Token generation program and making bold promises. The community was anticipating the release of Hamster tokens (HMSTR) on September 20, which marked the end of Season 1. Nevertheless, the community was outraged at the team’s unfair token distribution since this did not turn out as they had anticipated.
Did Hamster Kombat Make Fake Promises?
For a long time, the Hamster Kombat team made heavy promises to the community, but apparently, they were not kept. The initiative was so well-received by the Hamster community that it helped the team break several Guinness book records. Hamster was able to go from gaining one million followers in a record amount of time to becoming the largest Telegram channel thanks to the support of committed users. The coin is expected to be listed on the Binance exchange on September 26.
The system turned every point that players had accrued into Hamster Tokens once season 1 came to a finish on September 20. The outcome was not what was anticipated. The community went crazy as most of the gamers received between 200 and 1000 $HMSTR tokens. The hamster team identified 131 million of the 300 million gamers as qualified, and it eliminated 2.3 million for being “cheaters” from the airdrop.
Hamster Kombat Switched on Community
Users were first told by the project team that the goal of the game is to increase one’s “Profit Per Hour” and that every activity is equally essential. They presented the idea of keys at the end of the season and stated how valuable they are. Nobody explained the underlying idea in detail. The tap-to-earn game’s referral mechanism caused great worry in the community.
In the game, players can only access different cards after receiving a predetermined amount of referrals. The team responded to a question on the significance of referrals by stating that they are a standard indicator and have little bearing on earnings. When people began receiving their allotment of $HMSTR tokens on September 20, many became incensed upon realizing that they were receiving meager compensation for months-long labor.
As users began to share their allocation screenshots on X (previously Twitter), it became clear that YouTubers and Influencers received larger allocations. The screenshots made it evident why persons with a significant number of referrals received higher allocations. Moreover, the system will vest around 12% of the tokens allotted to players, unlocking them ten months following the token launching. This information was not provided by the team before.
Users Banned for Allegedly Cheating
Hamster Kombat banned over 2.3 million players because they were “cheaters”. The Hamster team implemented an anti-cheating system towards the conclusion of the first season. Many players were excluded from the airdrop as a result of receiving the cheater card.
Getting too many keys was the cause of the blacklisting. Keys were supposedly quite valuable when the Telegram game first offered them, thus the community began devoting more time to key collection. To obtain keys, users had to download and play several mobile games that the Hamster team had partnered with. Moreover, these keys led to their suspension.
Final Thoughts
The controversy surrounding Hamster Kombat’s token distribution has caused significant backlash within its once-thriving community. Despite its massive success in attracting millions of users, the project’s credibility has taken a hit due to unmet expectations regarding its airdrop and rewards system. The community felt misled as many players received a disappointing allocation of $HMSTR tokens, while influencers and high-referral users were seemingly given preferential treatment.
This discrepancy, coupled with the sudden banning of 2.3 million players under allegations of cheating, has further fueled frustrations and raised concerns about transparency and fairness within the project.
The lack of clarity around key aspects of the game, such as the value of referrals and the role of keys, added to the dissatisfaction, as users felt uninformed about how their efforts would be rewarded. Hamster Kombat’s decision to vest 12% of tokens without prior notice has also drawn criticism, suggesting poor communication from the team.
As a result, the controversy surrounding token distribution and user bans has damaged trust, leaving many to question whether Hamster Kombat can recover from the fallout and fulfill its earlier promises to the community.
Reece Conner
Reece Conner is a leading expert in the cryptocurrency industry, known for delivering cutting-edge insights and practical guidance to both newcomers and seasoned investors. With a background in finance and technology, Conner bridges the gap between complex blockchain concepts and real-world applications.