The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!

Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re happy to present This Week in Crypto Games.

Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.

Biggest news

Hamster Kombat airdrop date set: Leading tap-to-earn Telegram game Hamster Kombat announced Wednesday via its official channel that it will launch its long-awaited HMSTR token on The Open Network (TON) on September 26 and hold its airdrop for players on the same date.

The token was originally set for a July rollout, but was delayed due to additional planning needed for such a large-scale drop. Hamster Kombat has attracted more than 300 million players since launching this spring, the team said in July, and data from Telegram shows more than 80 million active players over the past month.

But the airdrop announcement came amid two hours-long spurts of downtime for TON last week due to demand over another airdrop—one with a much smaller audience than Hamster Kombat. Can TON handle the Hamster Kombat launch? Developers from both TON and the Hamster Kombat team discussed the challenge with Decrypt's GG.

And Rocky Rabbit too: Hamster Kombat wasn't the only anticipated game to announced airdrop details last week. The rising Telegram game Rocky Rabbit, which twists the Hamster Kombat formula with a fitness theme, plans to drop its own token on TON on September 23.

Are they launching before Hamster Kombat to avoid getting lost in the hype? Perhaps. Whatever the case, the RabBitcoin (RBTC) token is another big one for Telegram gamers in September.

Forgotten Runiverse beta begins: Ronin-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Forgotten Runiverse entered open beta on Monday, with the move positioned as a significant step forward in the franchise’s quest to become a household name.

“I see this open beta as our first real coming out party,” Bearsnake, pseudonymous co-founder and COO of Forgotten Runes—the broader universe which Forgotten Runiverse falls under—told Decrypt’s GG. “The biggest swing for the IP to date is this open beta. It's going to be the thing that we really hang our hat on.”

NFL Rivals new season: Officially licensed mobile football game from Mythical Games, NFL Rivals, announced that its second season will launch on September 5 alongside the kickoff of the National Football League (NFL).

Its second season, called "Year 2," will introduce new game modes, “distinctive” pack drops, and new ways for fans to engage with the sport. John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games, told Decrypt's GG that he believes the new PvP mode will be the “biggest upgrade” to the game since the introduction of the in-game NFT marketplace.

ICYMI

• GameStop’s stock jumped after the retailer announced it would lean into selling retro games via new stores.
• Telegram game X Empire announced it will burn inactive users’ coins before the airdrop.
• The NFL players union, the NFLPA, sued DraftKings on Monday over its abandoned NFT fantasy game.
• Esports team Complexity announced its plan to build fan app as part of a deal with Sonic Labs.

• Crypto gaming network Oasys secured funding from Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings.
• An official PGA Tour Web3 game was announced and is set for release in 2026.
• Play-to-earn RPG card game Legend of Arcadia raised $4 million in a seed funding round.
• Trial Extreme game developer Gameplay Galaxy announced a $11 million funding round.
• Blowfish Studios' game Darktimes will launch on Sui in a team-up with Mysten Labs.
• MapleStory Universe developer Nexon revealed its Nexpace (NEXP) token protocol.

GG spotlight

Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read:

Edited by Andrew Hayward