The TON gaming ecosystem has seen notable expansion recently, buoyed by strategic growth initiatives and an increasing roster of engaging games. This article, the third in a four-part series, explores some of the most prominent games within the TON network, including Notcoin, Catizen, Hamster Kombat, Fanton, and Gatto. 

Each of these games highlights different aspects of the TON ecosystem, from Notcoin's meme-driven success to Catizen's impressive monetization strategies. We examine data from a recent report by Delphi Digital, providing insights into how these games are shaping the future of social gaming on TON and addressing challenges such as user retention and monetization.

TON Gaming Teams Dominate X Metrics

TON Gaming Growth

The TON gaming ecosystem has witnessed significant growth recently, driven by various TON growth initiatives, the appeal of simple HTML5 games, low development costs, and a large pool of potential players. These factors make TON an increasingly attractive platform for game developers and players alike.

One of the key drivers of growth in TON’s gaming sector has been incentivized referrals. This strategy has been effective in onboarding new users. However, it does not address the challenge of deep monetization, which remains a concern for hypercasual games such as Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. Addressing this challenge is crucial for achieving long-term user retention and sustainability.

The Open Network (TON) Ecosystem

1. Notcoin

Notcoin has notably captured the web3 culture with its effective use of branding and meme-based community engagement. By allocating 95% of its tokens to users, Notcoin has achieved a decentralized distribution model with over 2.44 million on-chain token holders. As a tap-to-earn game, it offers an exceptionally low barrier to entry, contributing to its rapid growth.

Notcoin's swift growth, community-oriented approach, and meme-inspired culture have positioned it as a significant contributor to the TON ecosystem. Incremental games, which have been around since before the advent of web3, include notable examples like Cookie Clicker.

Released in 2013, Cookie Clicker reached about 1.5 million players in August 2023 and continues to have around 15,000 active players. More recently, the game Banana has held the position of the second most-played game on Steam by concurrent users for three weeks.

Banana Game Capture Mindshare on Stream

Notcoin’s integration within the TON ecosystem, where its $NOT token is accepted for in-game purchases in other TON games, has enhanced its utility. The team has also implemented a burn mechanism, reducing token supply and increasing buying pressure.

Despite its simple gameplay, Notcoin's cultural impact and broad ecosystem integration have been pivotal to its success. It ranks as the third-largest gaming token by market capitalization, with significant daily trading volumes.

$NOT Among Top Gaming Tokens

2. Catizen

Catizen stands out among TON games for its impressive launch and monetization strategy. The team, with prior experience in WeChat game development, achieved over 20 million registered users within two months. Catizen leads in in-game revenue through in-app purchases (IAPs), with more than $10 million in TON spent by its 2.7 million daily active users.

Catizen Gameplay

The game features a simple and engaging loop. Set in the Meowverse, players receive a digital cat upon registration, which they can upgrade to improve their position on the leaderboard. Players can earn tokens and NFTs by breeding their cats, completing quests, and participating in mini-games. The game plans to introduce over 200 mini-games in the near future, along with an open task platform for other projects and an upcoming e-commerce integration.

$CATI Token Distribution

3. Hamster Kombat

Hamster Kombat distinguishes itself with social media engagement. Over the past week, the game achieved an average of 2.2 million impressions, 20,000 likes, and over 2,000 retweets per post.

In terms of gameplay, Hamster Kombat shares similarities with Notcoin. Players tap on the screen to earn points, taking on the role of a fictional Hamster CEO running a crypto exchange. The objective is to mine as many HMSTR coins as possible. Players can enhance their earnings by investing in in-game marketing, licenses, talent, and new products or by referring new players.

 Hamster Kombat Gameplay

The game's simple mechanics and minimal effort requirements have facilitated rapid growth. Hamster Kombat’s social media strategy, including daily videos and interactive content, has been crucial in maintaining high levels of community engagement.

Their YouTube channel has grown to over 28 million subscribers, making it one of the fastest-growing channels in its category. With 137 videos generating over 461 million views, Hamster Kombat’s YouTube presence is approximately 100 times larger than that of the Illuvium YouTube channel.

Hamster Kombat Breaks Daily YouTube Subs Record

4. Fanton

Fanton, a fantasy soccer app, has garnered less attention compared to other notable TON games. Despite its niche focus and less aggressive token strategy, Fanton has achieved a fifth-place ranking in The Open League’s third season, with a prize pool of $30,000.

The game allows users to select a squad of players and compete based on real-life performance. Although it has a reported 200,000 monthly active users, its retention rates have been a challenge, particularly in comparison to competitors like Sorare. The game’s performance highlights the difficulties faced by niche projects in maintaining user engagement without significant token incentives.

Fanton Gameplay

5. Gatto

Gatto blends Tamagotchi, platformer, and farm simulator genres, and has seen a substantial number of registered users, surpassing 1 million. Although its community presence is less prominent on social media, Gatto has been successful on Telegram, where it has over 75,000 subscribers.

The game’s future plans include RPG content, a PvE rogue-like mode, and a city builder expansion. Gatto's continued development and its ability to innovate within the Telegram ecosystem will be key to closing the gap with more prominent games like Catizen and Hamster Kombat.

Gatto Logo

Final Thoughts

In summary, the TON gaming ecosystem includes a variety of notable projects, each contributing to its growth in different ways. Notcoin has leveraged community-driven strategies, Catizen has focused on effective monetization, Hamster Kombat excels in social media engagement, and Gatto continues to develop its gameplay offerings.

These games illustrate the diverse approaches within the TON platform and the ongoing challenges such as user retention and monetization. Other articles in this series will provide further insights into Telegram's user acquisition strategies, offering a comprehensive view of the ecosystem’s development and trends.

Future articles in this series will continue to explore Telegram's user acquisition strategies, further notable gaming projects on TON, and the evolving landscape of social gaming. For more details, readers can refer to the original blog post by Delphi Digital.

Source: Delphi Digital