Hamster Kombat, the latest in a growing pile of crypto games that have been deployed on popular messaging app Telegram, is set to launch a token on The Open Network (TON). 

The crypto management simulation game claims to have amassed 60 million users since its launch in March. It has the largest Telegram channel with 20 million subscribers, according to TelegramChannels—that’s 13 million subscribers ahead of Notcoin’s own community.

Telegram games have had a recent rise in popularity following the success of Notcoin, a social clicker game that rewards players with tokens for tapping the screen. The game amassed 35 million players in three months and recently launched its NOT token that has been this year’s biggest gaming token launch so far.

More recently, similar click-to-earn game Tapos helped layer-1 blockchain Aptos record over 115 million transactions in a day—thanks to the game registering every click as a transaction.

Hamster Kombat takes the Telegram-based clicker premise and evolves it. You assume the role of CEO at a crypto exchange, trying to grow your empire. When you begin, all you do is tap to get points—but soon enough you can use your currency to buy things that will promote your exchange. For example, in the game, you can create a YouTube channel, go on Joe Rogan’s podcast, or host a “special hamster conference” that will passively earn you points back.

As another tap-to-earn game, it’s likely that points earned in game will eventually be able to be converted into tokens. Whether this will happen alongside the token launch has yet to be confirmed.

Notcoin also launched its token on The Open Network, and the massive airdrop that came with it saw NOT break past a $1 billion market cap—putting it in the top 100 assets by the same metric, according to CoinGecko.

Now, a month later, Hamster Kombat is gearing up to launch its own token with nearly three times more Telegram subscribers than Notcoin. While the game has announced its intent to launch a token on The Open Network, it has yet to reveal when exactly this will happen.

Edited by Andrew Hayward