Nipple Fun or Software War? The TON ecosystem game Hamster Kombat has sparked criticism from political figures after becoming popular in Iran

Author: Zen, PANews

Recently, on the streets of Iran, in subway stations, taxis, and buses, and even in various locations, one can often see people tirelessly tapping on their phone screens. These Iranians, who seem to be enjoying leisure and entertainment, are most likely users of Hamster Kombat. Their mechanical tapping is not out of enjoyment, but rather to make money.

Hamster Kombat, which has attracted thousands of Iranian users, is a click-based mini-game on Telegram, where the core gameplay involves earning coins through tapping in the game. Such a simple casual game would typically go unnoticed in traditional gaming. However, in the cryptocurrency industry, by linking "tapping" with "earning money," especially after Notcoin successfully demonstrated the value and feasibility of the "Tap to Earn" mechanism, a wave of similar projects quickly launched and achieved rapid growth. Hamster Kombat stands out among them, even showing signs of surpassing its predecessors.

On June 24, Hamster Kombat announced on X platform that its player base had reached 200 million, while its X and YouTube accounts had 9.8 million and 28.7 million subscribers, respectively. From the perspective of user scale, this mini-game, which only launched in March this year, is undoubtedly the most talked-about phenomenon after Notcoin. However, the recently popular Hamster Kombat in Iran is clearly not favored by the local government and mainstream media.

Information Risks and the "Empty" Value Investment

The invitation mechanism of Hamster Kombat is one of the main tricks for achieving viral spread, encouraging each user to invite friends to join the game and earn one-time and ongoing rewards. In response to this rapid spread, Hossein Delirian, spokesperson for the Iranian National Cyber Space Center, issued a warning, stating that he has read a large number of discussions among Iranian users in many supergroups and claimed that using games for cryptocurrency mining has become a breeding ground for hacker crimes. "As the spokesperson for the National Cyber Space Center, I remind people participating in these games to protect their information and accounts."

Esmail Qamari, Deputy Director of the Social and Crime Prevention Department of the Ilam Province Justice Department, expressed doubts about the project's value, pointing out that if blockchain cannot achieve complete decentralization, it is not very trustworthy in the cryptocurrency field. He bluntly stated: "Notcoin and Hamster Kombat have no value because they are not scarce. Due to the presence of the community and external investors, they have discovered some value, which makes some people happy, leading them to bring their friends into the market, ultimately resulting in the main funds flowing from the narrative into the pockets of investors."

This controversy has also attracted the attention of the religious community, with prominent Shia scholar Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi describing cryptocurrency as "the root of many ills" and urging people to avoid playing games like Hamster Kombat that involve Bitcoin.

The "Nipple Entertainment" that Dulls the Iranian People?

In addition to expressing concerns about information and financial security, Dr. Alireza Chabkeru, a professor at Tehran University, also voiced worries about the decline of cultural thought. "New phenomena such as artificial intelligence or games of this style have taken away people's attention." He believes that in an era where tapping on phone screens has become one of the main activities for many during the day and in their free time, the influence of cyberspace on people's thoughts and its degradation is felt more profoundly. "Virtual space places people at a biological level of eating, sleeping, and breathing, creating an ever-expanding vicious cycle. Nowadays, people's concerns, worries, and goals have become very superficial under the influence of cyberspace, which is very dangerous."

Hamster Kombat is also interpreted as the enemy's "software war," with the Iranian Army's Deputy Chief of Staff Habibollah Sayyari offering more intense criticism. With national elections approaching, the public lacks enthusiasm for the elections. He believes that Hamster Kombat aims to divert the public's attention from significant national events and is part of a broader strategy. "One of the characteristics of the enemy's software war is the 'hamster' game." He stated that the purpose of this game is to distract the public from the presidential campaign and encourages a culture of laziness.

The "Livelihood Path" for Ordinary People in Economic Hardship

Due to Western sanctions, Iran has long faced issues such as high inflation, currency devaluation, reduced job opportunities, and increasing poverty. According to data released by the World Bank, approximately 9.5 million Iranians fell into poverty in the first decade of the 21st century. In the face of macroeconomic difficulties, many Iranians are looking for alternative ways to secure their financial management and have gradually developed a positive attitude towards cryptocurrency as a new risk asset.

The unprecedented popularity of Hamster Kombat in Iran inevitably brings to mind the glorious days of Axie Infinity in Southeast Asia. Amid a wave of unemployment in the Philippines, Axie Infinity players were able to earn an average monthly income of over $300 through the game, exceeding the local average salary, and many of these players came from impoverished backgrounds.

Iran's state media, JameJam, criticized the phenomenon of Hamster Kombat's popularity, stating: "If a society does not work hard and strive to earn money, but instead plays such games, seeking shortcuts and quick profits, then that society will gradually lose the culture of hard work and entrepreneurship."

However, for the long-term economically disadvantaged, perhaps after working hard and becoming numb, they care little about such concerns and worries. Even after participating in Hamster Kombat for months, they may end up merely witnessing a "mirage."