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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Hamster Kombat spread by making a game playable inside Telegram, then giving players simple reasons to return and invite friends. Its creators also tapped into interest in a possible crypto reward. The headline figure of 300 million players, however, was the project’s claim—not a verified count—and Iran’s military criticism was an election-season accusation, not evidence that the game was an operation to influence voters.
What was Hamster Kombat?
Hamster Kombat was a Telegram mini-game launched on March 26, 2024, according to WIRED. Players took the role of a fictional crypto-exchange CEO and built up an in-game business. It was a game distributed through Telegram, not a game shown by the reporting to be owned or operated by Telegram.
How the game loop worked
- Tap to earn in-game coins.
- Spend coins on cards or investments that increased the displayed “profit per hour.”
- Complete tasks and puzzles, watch videos, and subscribe to the game’s Telegram channel.
- Invite friends, adding a social-growth mechanic to the progression loop.
The coins were an in-game measure, not proof of a right to cash or tokens. Players had reason to hope that a future airdrop could give some of their coins or activity a market value, but that expectation was separate from what the game itself guaranteed.
Why did it grow so quickly?
The game was easy to try: Telegram users could open it as a mini-app rather than download a separate game from an app store. In interviews with WIRED, people claiming to be the developers said they deliberately built in sharing because they lacked a large marketing budget. They cited Notcoin’s earlier Telegram success and TikTok’s sharing incentives as inspirations. Le Monde also described invitations as an important part of the game’s spread.
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That combination helps explain the reported growth: low-friction access made starting easy; tapping and upgrades supplied a repeatable activity loop; tasks and social actions encouraged continued engagement; and referrals gave players a reason to bring others in. The prospect of a token added a speculative incentive. The developers’ account explains their stated strategy, but it is not an independent study proving how much each factor contributed.
Did Hamster Kombat really have 300 million players?
Hamster Kombat announced in July 2024 that it had reached 300 million players. WIRED reported the claim on August 1, 2024, while explicitly noting that the user total could not be verified. The reported milestones refer to 2024; they should not be read as current audience figures.
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| Figure | What it measured and who reported it |
|---|---|
| 300 million | Players claimed by Hamster Kombat in July 2024; WIRED reported the figure and said user numbers could not be verified. |
| 239 million in 81 days | A user figure Pavel Durov stated publicly in July 2024, as reported by Decrypt on July 5. It was not an independent audit of unique or active users. |
| 53 million | Telegram channel subscribers reported by WIRED on August 1, 2024. Subscribers are not the same as unique players or active users. |
These numbers describe different things and come through different reporting chains. A channel subscription does not establish that someone played, while a project-reported player total does not by itself establish unique people, active use, or retention.
Why did Iran’s military criticize the game?
During campaigning for Iran’s June 2024 presidential election, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, deputy chief of Iran’s military, called Hamster Kombat a feature of the West’s “soft war.” The Associated Press reported his theory that popularizing the game could distract people from candidates’ plans and affect their choices. AP quoted Sayyari through state-run IRNA: “One of the features of the soft war by the enemy is the ‘Hamster’ game.”
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That was an allegation by a military official. The reporting cited here does not establish that Hamster Kombat was created or deployed by a foreign actor to interfere in the election. The criticism also appeared amid broader public debate: AP reported that state television newspaper JameJam criticized the game for encouraging dreams of quick wealth without effort, and that a religious scholar objected to crypto-related games. Those were attributed opinions, not evidence of political coordination.
The economic context in Iran
AP described an economy facing Western sanctions, persistent inflation, and a lack of jobs. Iran digital-rights expert Amir Rashidi told AP that interest in the game reflected hope that a small chance might turn into something valuable, calling it “a sign of being desperate, honestly.” That context helps explain why the possibility of a reward could resonate; it does not show that economic hardship alone caused any particular person to play.
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Could players make real money?
The distinction between game progress and financial value matters. The game’s coins and displayed profit-per-hour were in-game mechanics; they were not themselves cash balances. Players’ hopes centered on a possible future token or airdrop, whose eventual value was uncertain in the reporting available for this story.
In an announcement preserved in Hamster Kombat’s official Telegram archive, the project said 60% of the total token supply was reserved for players and claimed, “To this day, Hamster Kombat doesn’t have any external investors.” These are statements by the project, not independent verification of its finances, and a proposed allocation does not establish what a player would receive or what it would be worth. The developers separately told AP, “We are educating our audience about crypto through gaming mechanics.” That is their description of the project’s purpose, not a guarantee of earnings.
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Who created it—and what was Telegram’s role?
WIRED reported that the creators remained anonymous and that it interviewed people who claimed to be developers by email. Le Monde described circumstantial links between a related site and Russian entrepreneurs, while also reporting a denial of authorship. The available reporting leaves the creators’ identity unresolved; it does not support a definitive attribution.
The game used Telegram’s distribution and planned a token based on TON, but those connections do not make the game a Telegram product. WIRED noted that Telegram and TON are technically separate entities. A platform that hosts a mini-app, the app’s operators, and the network associated with a planned token are distinct actors.
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