By Guest 
Will Telegram Clicker Games Ultimately Suffer the Same Fate as Other Blockchain Games? Some challenges in the execution process of airdrops and the games themselves may prevent these games from achieving sustainable models.
In the world of digital currency games, Telegram clicker games have carved out a special place for themselves, yet some challenges in the execution process of airdrops and the games themselves may prevent these games from achieving sustainable models.
Telegram games in 2024 have transformed into one of the biggest winners in the world of crypto. Hamster Kombat had managed to attract 300 million players before its airdrop last week, and Notcoin introduced a token that reached a market cap of $3 billion, shaping up as one of the top 100 digital currencies worldwide!
All these successes have revolved around the concept of clicker-to-earn for income, a simple concept with increasing diversities! But has this model truly evolved into relative stability and sustainability, or will it ultimately face a fate similar to the short-lived excitement of income-generating games like Axie Infinity, which once dominated the crypto market in a previous bullish cycle only to ultimately face failure?
The success of Telegram clicker games
Back in 2021, income-generating games, with games like Axie Infinity boasting nearly 3 million monthly users, became a strong trend. In Axie Infinity, players had to purchase or borrow three NFTs of Axie creatures before starting the game; the entry cost at its peak exceeded $600. By competing in the game, winners earned real digital currency tokens. This game model became so popular that individuals in low-income countries even turned playing these games into full-time jobs; at one point, 40% of players were from the Philippines!
At that time, Axie promised a revolutionary concept where players would be rewarded for the time spent in these games, escape poverty, and redefine the idea of modern work. However, the Axie economy collapsed, its tokenized assets plummeted in value, and this led to the halt in the growth of the Play-to-Earn model!
In many ways, click-to-earn games are akin to the initial excitement of income-generating games; players receive in-game coins or rewards by simply tapping on their screen and playing simple games, which ultimately convert into digital currency tokens received through airdrops.
But why are click-to-earn games considered a step forward for the industry?
Click-to-earn games offer a promising advancement over traditional income-generating game models with their simplicity and easy access. These games significantly remove barriers to entry into the Web3 space, especially for newcomers to the world of digital currencies. This approach aims for a more sustainable economy from the start and could prevent some of the challenges faced by income-generating game models in the past.
In most revenue-generating games, players must pay a cost before they can earn income and in a way have a real investment, but in clicker games, such a requirement does not exist. All you need is a smartphone that can run a simple Telegram app. Of course, this reduction in barriers to entry has led to shallow and repetitive experiences so far. Clicker games are now considered valuable assets that initially create the interest needed to engage in Web 3 spaces, but often fail to sustain long-term user engagement!
Perhaps for a real revolution in Web 3 games, developers need to combine the immediate enjoyment of clicker games with deeper and more engaging experiences so that players remain engaged after the initial attraction fades! The reality is that most Telegram games do not require much skill for success. For example, a game like Hamster Combat only required repeated clicks on the screen and selecting the best upgrades for passive token acquisition! Which, well, is the usual process for most clicker games too.
Some players didn’t even click on the screen themselves and found creative ways, like using massagers or software scripts (which were sometimes considered cheating by the developers) to automate the process. Many revenue-generating games were perceived as superficial at the time of definition in 2021, however games like Exsy Infinity were much richer in terms of gameplay compared to Hamster Combat!
Revenue-generating games offered complete gaming experiences. It might even be said that they were more entertaining than idle tap games because they engaged players in challenges, strategies, and skill-building and kept the game interesting over time. Of course, this can also be seen as a weakness. Casual games are the most popular type of video game in the United States, with 63% of people claiming to regularly play these games. Gamers these days exist more than ever before in history, but many of them play simple games, and clicker games fit well into this category!
Perhaps this broader audience, along with the reduction in barriers to entry into the crypto world, can justify the enthusiasm for mass attraction to these games via Telegram. For example, X Empire claims to have 45 million players, and NatCoin with 35 million players, is the first successful clicker game on Telegram in this regard; what is certain is that almost anyone can quickly enter the world of these games and start playing very quickly.
The main advantage of clicker games is their ability to reach a wider audience, especially in the large mobile gaming markets! Because these games, by reducing entry barriers, have provided an opportunity for users from any demographic group who still had no information about the Web 3 ecosystem to enter.
What destroyed the outlook of revenue-generating games like Axie Infinity was undoubtedly the collapse of the general instability in the economies within these games. Axie Infinity itself, once considered a shining example of these games, now only leaves a memory of its financial instability in the minds of its players. Those who had invested significant amounts of money in valuable NFTs are now unsure what to do with worthless assets. Players who had chosen to make playing Axie Infinity a profession were forced to start looking for work anew, and some even considered it a failed scheme. It goes without saying that this game still exists, but the trust in this gaming model has largely dissipated across the industry!
Axie was the largest example of revenue-generating games, but it was not the only one! The game Stepn, which operated on the “Move to Earn” model, became popular in early 2022, allowing individuals to earn valuable crypto tokens by walking and running in the real world through the sale of NFT shoes. However, the excitement of this game was short-lived, accompanied by the collapse of NFTs and their tokens, resulting in heavy losses for some investors. The click-to-earn model, or Tap to Earn, is so new that its serious issues have not yet fully surfaced!
It is worth mentioning that when no money is spent to start click-to-earn games and the focus of starting the game is more on interaction than financial investment, tedious gameplay and limited airdrops pose a significant challenge for this gaming model!
The economic model of click-to-earn games is entirely different from other blockchain games’ economic models; these games are simply built on advertising principles! While revenue-generating games relied on new player entry to sustain their economy, click-to-earn games use advertising to finance their model!
Revenue from advertising is a method many companies use to cover their expenses, and this approach will be more sustainable for financial support. However, problems arise when the initial airdrop is completed, and players have no further reason to stay in the project and continue playing. Can a token retain its value for a long time in such a situation?
For survival, every application must create ways for token holders to extract more value and ensure that the project development team is willing to pay for this value. For example, after its airdrop, Natcoin collaborated with other projects to survive and introduced goals to become the Netflix of launching new crypto games. Now it seems that Hamster Combat also intends to go beyond a Telegram project and launch more games. However, it is still too early to say whether these moves can keep players engaged in the game for a long time or not.
Time will tell whether click-to-earn games can create new economic models that remain stable after the token generation event or not! Otherwise, these games will suffer the same fate as revenue-generating games after the excitement fades and there is no longer any demand for the product!