Hamster Kombat, which has become popular in Iran, has received unanimous criticism from the’s politicians and experts.
In recent times, people in Iran can be seen constantly clicking on their phone screens – on the streets, in subway stations, taxis, buses, and even in any place. These Iranians who appear to be leisurely enjoying themselves are most likely users ofster Kombat. They are not clicking mechanically out of enjoyment but rather to earn money.
Hamster Kombat is a Telegram-based clicker game that has attracted thousands of Iranian users The core gameplay involves earning coins by clicking within the game. This simple casual game would gone unnoticed in traditional gaming circles. However, with the success of “Tap to Earn” mechanism demonstrated by Not in the cryptocurrency industry, similar projects quickly emerged and experienced rapid growth. Hamster Kombat is one such standout project that to surpass its predecessor.
On June 24th, Hamster Kombat announced that had reached 200 million players on X platform. Additionally, it garnered 9.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 28.7 million subscribers for its project X account respectively. In terms of user base alone, this small game that was launched just this March undoubtedly became one of the most talked-about projects following Notcoin’s success earlier this year. However,H amster Kombat’s recent popularity in Iran clearly does not sit well with the local government and mainstream media.
The invitation mechanism used by Hamster Kombat is one of its main tactics for achieving viral spreadability.This makes every user eager to invite friends to join the game as they can receive both one-time and ongoing rewards from it.The spokesperson for Iran’s National Cyberspace Center,Hossein Delirian,warned about fast-spreading trend.He stated that he had read a lot of discussions among Iranian users regarding these games within many supergroups.He also pointed out that using games for cryptocurrency mining has become a hotbed for hackers’ criminal activities.”As a spokesperson for National Cyberspace Center,I remind those participating these games to pay attention towards protecting their own information and accounts.”
Esmail Qamari,the Deputy Director-General at Iram Province Judiciary Department expressed doubts about the value of such projects.He stated if blockchain technology cannot achieve complete decentral,it becomes less trustworthy within cryptocurrency field.He further bluntly said,”Notcoin and HamKombathave no value because they are not scarce.They found some values due to community members’ presence as well as external.This made some people happy,andthey brought their friends into the market, ultimately benefiting the investors.”
This controversy has also caught the attention of the religious community, with Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, a prominent Shiite scholar, describing cryptocurrencies as “the root many evils” and urging people to avoid playing games like Hamster Kombat that involve.
Apart from expressing concerns about information and financial security issues, Dr. Alirezaabkeru, a professor at Tehran University, also expressed concerns about cultural decline. He believes that phenomena like artificial intelligence or similar style games have taken away people’s. In an era where clicking on phone screens has become one of the main activities for people during their days and free time, he deeply feels the dominance of cyberspace over people thoughts and its degradation. “Virtual space puts people at a biological level such as eating, sleeping,and breathing.This is an expanding vicious cycle.Nowadays eople’s concerns,worries,and goals are very superficial under the influence of cyberspace,and this is very dangerous.”
Hamster Kombat has also been interpreted as an “information warfare” by enemies. Deputy Chief-of-Staff Habibollah Sayari criticized it more strongly.As national elections approach in Iran and public enthusiasm for these elections wanes.He believes that Hamster Kombat aims to divert public attention from national eventsand is part of awider strategic plan.”One characteristic of enemy’s information warfare is ‘hamster’ games.”He stated that this game aims to divert public attention from presidential electionsand encourages a culture of laziness.
Due to Western sanctions,Iran has long issues including high inflation,currency depreciation,reduced job opportunities,and increasing poverty.According to data released by World Bank,during first decadeof 21st century,nearly 9.5 million Iranians fell into poverty.Facing macroeconomic challenges,many Iranians are looking for other ways to secure their financial managementand are gradually embracing cryptocurrencies as emerging risky assets.
The unprecedented popularityof Ham Kombat in Iran brings back memories of Axie Infinity’s glorious daysin Southeast Asia.During massive unemployment crisis in Philippines,Axie Infinity players were ableto earnan average income exceeding $300 through gameplay which was higher than local average salaries.Many low-income individualswere among these players lived in slums.
The Iranian official media outlet JameJam criticized HamsterKombat,stating,”If a society doesn’t work hard,eke out a livingbut instead plays games seeking shortcutsand windfalls,this society will gradually lose its cultureofhard work andentrepreneurship.”
Note: The translation has been done to the best of my abilities, but there be some discrepancies.