Hamster Kombat: Marketing Geniuses or Satirists?

200 million users are currently engaged in Hamster Kombat; the game poses enthralling inquiries regarding universal basic income, growth hacking, and play-to-earn gaming

Hamster Kombat is not merely another game. It is a digital juggernaut propelled by a relentless pursuit of profit, a constant desire to click, and promises exclusively available online. Hamster Kombat has experienced unprecedented popularity since its debut on Telegram in March 2024, drawing in more than 200 million users.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect is the rapidity with which it attracted participants. The game, based on Telegram, onboarded approximately 1.8 million participants per day in the 77 days following its launch. The in-game mechanics of the game have also resulted in the shattering of records on its social media and YouTube channels.

Simplicity and Appeal: Casual Games

Hamster Kombat epitomizes casual gaming—it is straightforward, user-friendly, and necessitates no expertise. These activities are intended to be a convenient way to pass the time. In Hamster Kombat, it is possible to accumulate currency by clicking on the Hamster avatar without consideration.

User engagement in the game averaged over 20 minutes per day, as determined by Google Analytics, according to data from Hamster Kombat’s official Telegram channel in early June. This metric is progressively increasing.

As of early June 2024, the total number of minutes consumed daily is 2 billion minutes when the 20-minute metric is multiplied by 100 million users. The game’s user base has multiplied to 200 million users in less than 30 days.

Game Mechanics: Investments, Subscriptions, and Clicks

The game is centered on accumulating coinage and enhancing profit per hour, with three primary methods to accomplish this objective.

Clicks: The most straightforward approach entails pressing on the hamster. There are methods to increase the earnings per click; however, each click depletes the hamster’s vitality. The rate at which you flame out increases as you continue to grind. Is it not redolent of corporate work?

Subscriptions: Coins are acquired through activities such as recruiting new players and subscribing to channels extending beyond the game’s confines. It necessitates a departure from one’s comfort zone, where there are perpetually new opportunities—whether in life or beyond the game.

Daily Combo and Investments: Investments and the “Daily Combo” are available to strategic participants. Consider it as akin to navigating a digital stock market with rodents. Who would have anticipated that your financial voyage would commence with a virtual hamster?

What is the reason for the popularity of Hamster Kombat?
Participants are probably primarily motivated by the prospect of earning easy money. The creators of Hamster Kombat maintain players’ interest by suggesting that these digital tokens may eventually be converted to real money.

The game’s website casually references a prospective token listing, encouraging users to connect their Telegram wallets to the game bot. The developers appear to be preparing to implement on-chain functionality and a cryptocurrency airdrop on the TON blockchain.

People have reason to believe their aspirations may be realized, as comparable initiatives have already generated profit for participants this year. Enter Notcoin. Notcoin was introduced on Telegram in January 2024 as a clicker game arguably more rudimentary than Hamster Kombat.

The concept was straightforward: users could accumulate in-game currency by clicking their displays. Notoin conducted a listing event in the spring of 2024, which enabled certain participants to convert virtual coins into tangible currency.

Social Media and Genius Marketing

The individuals responsible for the development of Hamster Kombat are marketing experts. They have developed a virtual currency to pay for social media subscriptions and video views and attract new participants. The social media followers are genuine even though the currency is virtual.

In just over three months, the outcome was 47.4 million Telegram subscribers, 30 million on YouTube, and 10.8 million on Twitter. Additionally, the Hamster Kombat YouTube channel has been acknowledged as the fastest-growing channel globally and will be documented in the Guinness World Records, as reported by Cointelegraph.

Most importantly, the game developers do not request that players invest money; they desire participation in activities and their time. Consequently, it is difficult to accuse the game developers of deception. This may be a significant factor in how individuals feel secure and become absorbed in the game.

Conversely, is their conduct truly so detrimental? They have essentially taken individuals already spending time on recreational games and offered them the opportunity to do so with the added potential of earning money. It is exceedingly straightforward.

You could even contend that there is a social benefit to this. Individuals are potentially increasing their income by tapping on a virtual hamster rather than engaging in questionable activities or passively wasting time. It is mutually beneficial.

The UBI Concept

However, let us step back from the game and contemplate exchanging individuals’ time for prospective income.

Professor Geoffrey Hinton recently expressed apprehensions about the future in a recent interview with BBC Newsnight, stating that “AI is taking a lot of mundane jobs.” He cautioned that “AI would enhance productivity and wealth, but the wealth would accrue to the wealthy rather than those who lose their jobs, and this would be detrimental to society.”

He proposes to provide individuals with the right to Universal Basic Income (UBI), a concept in which “the government pays all individuals a set salary regardless of their means.” Nevertheless, numerous governments are not prepared to implement a UBI system. A spokesperson for the United Kingdom government claimed that there were “no plans to introduce a universal basic income” due to the substantial expenses associated with the proposal.

However, what if there is a method to obtain funds without relying on the state treasury? What if we could establish a system where businesses are willing to pay for the most basic actions? What if these clicker games are a concept of an alternative UBI?

Virtual assurances and tangible advantages
We should deconstruct it. Hamster Kombat has garnered a substantial audience with significant potential for monetization in a matter of months. Advertising and conducting surveys are the most straightforward approaches.

A listing could occur if stakeholders are prepared to pay. The success of Notcoin has the potential to be replicated, given the increasing recognition of Hamster Kombat and its in-game tokens. In the future, Hamster Kombat may be integrated with AI, creating a comprehensive Hamster Universe for users.

However, we should concentrate on the present. The game’s developers will undoubtedly generate revenue. Will the participants? That remains uncertain. Nevertheless, examining this mechanism more closely may be worthwhile if similar initiatives continue to emerge and exhibit potential earnings.

What is the purpose of performing as a hamster?
We should pause from the existential contemplations and acknowledge the arrogance of the game’s creators.

Marketing brilliance is why Hamster Kombat’s social media and YouTube channels are expanding. Nevertheless, the developers of Hamster Kombat are not merely marketers; they dare to designate a hamster as the protagonist. Have you ever contemplated the rationale behind their selection of a hamster?

The selection of a hamster as the central figure in Hamster Kombat is not limited to the mere existence of adorable creatures on wheels. The financial industry’s penchant for “lemming-like behavior” is cleverly acknowledged.

Investopedia decodes the financial terminology associated with “lemming,” a phenomenon in which investors make impetuous decisions due to “FOMO” and the irrationality of certain market movements. Intriguingly, lemmings and hamsters are distant cousins. Is this a mere coincidence?

Players begin the game by “shaving the hamster,” a symbolic initiation into the vicious world of finance, which is intended to be humorous. ‘Shaving the hamster’ or ‘lemming’ is a term used in financial circles to describe the act of seasoned investors exploiting the herd mentality of novices, much like the way the creators of Hamster Kombat playfully poke fun at their users.

Do you recall the GameStop Saga?
We should accelerate the rotation of this gerbil wheel. It is possible that the developers of Hamster Kombat are not ridiculing their users at all; rather, they genuinely accept and embrace them as they are.

Retail investors on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets subreddit formed a coalition in 2021, which resulted in a sudden increase in stock prices that caught institutional investors off guard. It was a classic example of amateurs outperforming professionals—a situation in which a critical mass of “hamsters” could influence the financial tide.

This occurrence emphasizes the absurdity of Hamster Kombat: it is possible that its purpose is not to prepare its users for exploitation.

A million hamsters rebelling against institutions may be unsuccessful; however, a billion hamsters are formidable. Perhaps “shaving the hamster” is a peculiar initiation ritual that recognizes the genuine grit of these “hamsters” and ensures they will not be exploited.

Mr. Goxx is the CEO of Hamster.
The hamster CEO character in Hamster Kombat may have been influenced by Mr. Goxx, the legendary 2021 crypto-trader hamster.

Mr. Goxx, renowned for navigating volatile crypto markets from a sophisticated cage and outperforming human investors, broadcast his trades on Twitch and employed his distinctive “intention wheel” to execute buy and sell actions.

His success indicates that in cryptocurrency, credentials are not the sole determinant; occasionally, success is contingent upon the wheel of fortune turning in your favor.

A straightforward explanation: the proprietors have a fondness for hamsters.
The third hypothesis proposes a simple explanation for the hamster CEO’s involvement in the game.

It is purported that the creators had a pet gerbil named after the CEO, whom they held in high regard. To pay tribute to their cherished companion, they immortalized him as the hamster CEO in the game.

To Be or Not to Be [a hamster]
One concern persists as we investigate the zany universe of Hamster Kombat, where financial satire intersects with digital entertainment. To click or not to click?

This dilemma is reminiscent of the timeless essence of Shakespearean inquiry in the landscape of 2024, reminding us that our choices can reflect life’s profound uncertainties, even in the domain of games.