Designers of Hamster Kombat modern satirists or marketing geniuses. Uncover the blend of humor and strategy behind this quirky, popular game
Hamster Kombat has 200 million players who are clicking on their screens. However, the game poses interesting questions concerning play-to-earn gaming, growth hacking, and universal basic income.
Hamster Kombat is not simply another game. It’s a digital powerhouse propelled by incessant clicks, a need for profit, and promises found only online. Since its Launch on Telegram in March 2024, Hamster Kombat has grown in popularity, reaching over 200 million users.
The rate at which it garnered players is possibly the most impressive. In the 77 days since its launch, the Telegram-based game added approximately 1.8 million new participants per day. Its in-game dynamics have also resulted in record-breaking social and YouTube channels.
Casual Games: Simple and Appealing
Hamster Kombat serves casual gaming—it’s simple, accessible, and requires little to no experience. These games are designed to pass the time quickly and easily. In Hamster Kombat, you can collect coins by rashly clicking on the Hamster character.
Data from Hamster Kombat’s official Telegram channel in early June showed that user interaction in the game averaged more than 20 minutes each day, as assessed by Google Analytics. This measure continues to rise.
Multiplying this 20-minute statistic by 100 million users yields a daily total of 2 billion minutes by early June 2024. Less than 30 days later, the game’s player base had doubled to 200 million.
Game mechanics: Clicks, Subscriptions, and Investments.
The game revolves around accumulating coins and increasing profit per hour, with three primary methods to achieve this goal.
- Clicks: The most straightforward method involves clicking on the hamster. Techniques exist to boost earnings per click, but each click depletes the hamster’s energy. The more you grind, the quicker you burn out. It’s reminiscent of corporate work, isn’t it?
- Subscriptions: Earning coins extends beyond the game through tasks like subscribing to channels and recruiting new players. It requires stepping out of one’s comfort zone, where new opportunities are always available—whether in life or beyond the game itself.
- Investments and Daily Combo: Strategic players can engage in investments and the “Daily Combo.” Think of it as navigating a digital stock market with hamsters. Who would have thought your financial journey would start with a virtual hamster?
Why are people playing Hamster Kombat?
Easy money seems likely to be a primary motivator for players. Hamster Kombat’s creators keep players hooked with the enticing idea that these digital coins could one day become real cash.
The game’s website casually mentions a potential token listing, nudging users to link their Telegram wallets to the game bot. The developers seem to be gearing up for a cryptocurrency airdrop and on-chain functionality on the TON blockchain.
People have cause to be optimistic, given that comparable efforts have already paid off for players this year. Notcoin. Notcoin started on Telegram in January 2024 as a clicker game, perhaps more simple than Hamster Kombat itself.
The premise was simple: users clicked their screens to earn in-game currency. In the Spring of 2024, Notoin held a listing event, allowing some players to convert virtual coins into tangible money.
Genius marketing and social media
In barely over three months, Telegram has 47.4 million subscribers, YouTube has 30 million, and Twitter has 10.8 million. the Hamster Kombat YouTube channel is the world’s fastest-growing channel and will be listed in the Guinness World Records.
Importantly, the game producers do not ask players to commit money; all they require is their time and participation in activities. As a result, accusing the game’s authors of deception is challenging. Perhaps it’s because of this that individuals feel safe and become involved in the game.
On the other hand, is what they’re doing really so bad? They’ve essentially taken people who already spend their time playing casual games and given them the opportunity to do so while earning money. It is pleasantly simple.
You may even say there is a societal advantage here. Instead of squandering time or indulging in questionable activities, people are tapping on a virtual hamster, which might potentially increase their revenue. This is a win-win situation.
The UBI Concept
But let’s take a step back from the game and consider the concept of exchanging people’s time for potential income.
In a recent interview with BBC Newsnight, Professor Geoffrey Hinton expressed fear about the future, stating that “AI is taking lots of mundane jobs.” He issued a warning: “AI would increase productivity and wealth, the money would go to the rich and not to the people whose jobs get lost, and that’s going to be very bad for society.”
His idea is to give people the right to Universal Basic Income (UBI), a concept where “the government pays all individuals a set salary regardless of their means.” However many governments are simply not ready to implement a UBI system, and a United Kingdom government spokesperson was quoted saying there were “no plans to introduce a universal basic income” due to the enormous costs involved.
But what if there is a way to get money without relying on the state treasury? What if we could create a mechanism where businesses are willing to pay for the most straightforward actions? What if these clicker games are a concept of an alternative UBI?
Virtual offers and real benefits
Let us break it down. In just a few months, Hamster Kombat has built a big fanbase with enormous economic potential. The easiest techniques are to advertise and conduct surveys.
If stakeholders are willing to pay, a listing could occur. Given the growing popularity of Hamster Kombat and its in-game currency, it is possible to emulate Notcoin’s success. Or will we see Hamster Kombat merged with AI in the future, resulting in a complete Hamster Universe for users?
But let us concentrate on the now. The game’s designers will most likely make money. Will the participants? That remains uncertain. However, if similar ventures continue to arise and generate prospective earnings, this approach may be worth investigating further.
Why are we playing as Hamsters?
Let’s take a break from existential thoughts and applaud the game’s developers’ courage.
The success of Hamster Kombat’s social media and YouTube platforms can be ascribed to marketing ingenuity. However, the creators of Hamster Kombat are more than just marketers; they had the audacious idea to make a hamster the main character. Have you ever wondered why they selected hamsters?
The choice of a hamster as the central figure in Hamster Kombat goes beyond just cute critters running on wheels. It’s a clever nod to the financial world’s penchant for “lemming-like behavior”.
Investopedia decodes the financial language around a ‘lemming‘, in which investors make rash decisions motivated by ‘FOMO’ and the irrationality of certain market movements. Interestingly, lemmings and hamsters are distant cousins. Is it a coincidence?
In the game, players begin by “shaving the hamster,” a figurative entrance into the competitive world of finance. In financial circles,’ shaving the hamster’ or ‘lemming’ refers to seasoned investors taking advantage of novices’ herd mentality—much as the designers of Hamster Kombat playfully prod their users.
Remember the GameStop Saga?
Let’s try spinning this hamster wheel a little harder. Perhaps the designers of Hamster Kombat aren’t mocking its customers after all; instead, they are fully embracing and accepting them for who they are.
In 2021, retail investors on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets subreddit banded together, causing a spike in stock prices that took institutional investors off guard. It was a typical example of amateurs outmaneuvering professionals—a scenario in which a critical mass of ‘hamsters’ may tip the financial scales.
This event highlights the irony of Hamster Kombat: perhaps it isn’t about preparing its users for exploitation after all.
Perhaps one million hamsters rising up against institutions will fail, but a billion hamsters are a formidable force. Perhaps ‘ shaving the hamster’ is simply a strange initiation process that acknowledges the true strength of these ‘hamsters,’ and they will not be exploited.
The CEO Hamster: Mr Goxx
The hamster CEO persona in Hamster Kombat may have been inspired by Mr Goxx, the famed 2021 crypto-trader hamster.
Mr Goxx, known for navigating unpredictable cryptocurrency markets from a sophisticated cage and surpassing human investors, aired his trades on Twitch and utilized his unique “intention wheel” to make buy and sell decisions.
His success suggests that in crypto, it’s not just about credentials; sometimes, it’s the wheel of fortune in your favor.
A simple explanation – the founders love hamsters?
The third hypothesis suggests a straightforward reason for the hamster CEO’s role in the game.
The creators allegedly had a pet hamster with a name similar to the CEO, whom they cherished. In homage to their beloved companion, they immortalized him as the hamster CEO within the game.
To Be or Not To Be (a hamster)
As we continue to examine the bizarre world of Hamster Kombat, where financial satire meets digital entertainment, one question remains. To click or not to click?
In the environment of 2024, this quandary echoes the ageless spirit of Shakespearean inquiry, reminding us that even in the arena of games, the decisions we make can represent the great uncertainties of life.
