'Hamster Kombat' Telegram Game Launches New Season Ahead of Airdrop

As expected, Hamster Kombat took a season-ending snapshot of players’ progress Friday as the Telegram tap-to-earn game gears up to launch its HMSTR token and airdrop on September 26. And now we know what’s next for the game, at least for now: an “interlude.”

Hamster Kombat’s “interlude season” rolled out in the Telegram game on Friday, scrapping many of the familiar features while the developers calculate players’ airdrop allocations.

Gone are the familiar in-game coins, and tapping on the main screen no longer earns you anything at all, it appears. Likewise, the long list of crypto exchange upgrades and the associated Mine menu are completely absent.

Instead, you can earn in-game diamonds by playing both native and partnered games, inviting friends and following the game’s social media accounts, and watching Hamster Kombat videos on YouTube. There’s also a new Mine submenu buried in the Playground gaming menu, where you can buy and upgrade startup-themed cards with diamonds—which, in turn, let you earn more diamonds.

What does this all add up to? That’s currently unclear. Hamster Kombat’s developers have long promised a next season of play-to-earn rewards after the airdrop, but this interlude appears to be a temporary transition phase that might set players up for what’s next once the HMSTR token is live.

The HMSTR token is set to be generated on The Open Network (TON) on September 26, with airdrop allocations likely to be disclosed to players before then. With more than 300 million players to date, and about 100 million active players over the last month, TON developers have warned that airdrop demand could negatively impact the network.