The crypto and NFT gaming scene is busier than ever with major game releases, numerous token airdrops, and constant developments. It can be overwhelming to keep up!
Our weekend roundup highlights the biggest news from the past week, along with some additional tidbits you might have missed. We also feature a few of our original stories from the week.
Biggest News
Hamster Kombat Craze: The Hamster Kombat frenzy is reaching new heights. Just days after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that the game had 239 million players and counting, a Russian news outlet reported a surge in percussion massage gun sales as players use them to super-charge their in-game tapping. One brand even featured Hamster Kombat imagery on its product listings.
Decrypt’s GG discovered various creative ways people are exploiting the tap-to-earn game, including using sewing machines and custom-made devices. Here are some of the wildest examples.
Pre-Market Trading for HMSTR: Bybit, another cryptocurrency exchange, started pre-market trading for Hamster Kombat’s HMSTR token last week, offering traders an additional way to join the Telegram gaming phenomenon ahead of its token launch. Currently, HMSTR is trading for about $0.20 in USDT stablecoin on Bybit’s pre-market platform.
The developers of Hamster Kombat have not yet announced the conversion rate for in-game coins to on-chain tokens, adding to the uncertainty of pre-market trading. Players are flocking to the game ahead of the planned token launch on The Open Network (TON), expected later in July.
July Token Unlocks: July is set to be a significant month for crypto gaming token unlocks, with over $148 million potentially entering the market. This week, Immutable unlocked $38.32 million worth of IMX tokens for project and ecosystem development, and the rest of the month looks just as promising.
On July 19, Ronin farming game Pixels will unlock $10.19 million worth of PIXEL tokens, accounting for 7.05% of its circulating supply. ApeCoin, the Ethereum token tied to the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem including the Otherside metaverse game, is set to release 15.6 million APE ($10.89 million) on July 17, accounting for 2.31% of its circulating supply. Parallel will end the month unlocking $5.54 million in PRIME tokens for investors in the Ethereum NFT card-battler studio.
‘Attack on Titan’ Joins the Metaverse: The popular Japanese anime and manga series “Attack on Titan” is entering the crypto gaming world through a collaboration with The Sandbox, an Ethereum metaverse game. Announced last Monday, the partnership will create an interactive “Attack on Titan Land” within The Sandbox’s virtual world.
The Sandbox, along with Minto and Copro Corporation, received authorization from IP owner Kodansha Ltd. to produce NFTs and develop the themed area. This collaboration aims to bring the post-apocalyptic world of the franchise to life in a new interactive format, with the themed environment and experience set to launch later this year.