Local Russian media reports revealed that the tap-to-earn project Hamster Kombat is experiencing internal conflicts that could lead to serious consequences.
Internal tensions within the Hamster Kombat team have sparked concerns about the project’s future, including the possible delay or even cancellation of the HMSTR token airdrop and listing.
What’s Going on with Hamster Kombat
Local media outlet Lenta.ru recently reported internal conflicts within the Hamster Kombat team over a dispute with investor AD.RU. The article claimed that the creators of the popular Telegram game allegedly refused to share profits, despite AD.RU’s involvement in financing and developing key mechanics for the project.
The article was removed a day later, leaving the reasons unclear. Anton Gorshkov, CEO of AD.RU, stated that the firm played a key role in the game’s development, following a 2020 collaboration proposal from Eduard Gurinovich for a mobile gaming and esports platform called Arenum.
In response to Gurinovich’s proposal, IT Holding invested $600,000 in the project, acquiring an 18.6% stake. AD.RU’s marketing support helped secure over $1 million in additional investments, increasing their share to 25%.
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Gorshkov highlighted that AD.RU financed the project and played a role in developing the game mechanics later used in Hamster Kombat. Despite these contributions, the investor did not receive any profits, with the Hamster Kombat team allegedly offering empty promises.
In June 2024, Gurinovich refuted the claims, stating that AD.RU had no role in developing Hamster Kombat. In response, AD.RU submitted a technical report showing that Hamster Kombat’s servers share the same hosting as Arenum. Additionally, the domain hamsterkombat.io was registered using the corporate email [email protected], associated with the company’s co-founder Alexander Pasechnik.
These details form the basis of AD.RU’s claims. Gorshkov mentioned that he has already sent a pre-trial claim to Gurinovich, hinting at more challenges ahead for the Hamster Kombat project.
The Сonflict Is Heating Up
The conflict surrounding Hamster Kombat escalated after marketing director Nikita Anufriev left the project in August. Anufriev claims he was promised 25% of the company’s revenue or shares, which never materialized.
He states that he played a key role in promoting the game globally, securing strategic partnerships, including a $450,000 investment. Instead of sharing profits, the team chose to return funds to early investors, a move that caused discord among influencers and participants, further intensifying tensions within the project.
“Opinion leaders and project participants believe that without influencer support, the project wouldn’t have reached its current success. Instead of showing gratitude for a profitable business and millions in revenue from ad integrations, the founders chose to return investments to early backers. This decision was seen as an insult by influencers and key figures, leading them to publicly voice their dissatisfaction,” Anufriev shared.
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Internal conflicts within the project could significantly impact players, with potential consequences including:
- Airdrop Delays and Slowed Development. Legal and financial disputes might force the team to divert attention away from the HMSTR airdrop and overall project growth.
- Server Stability and Game Availability. Ongoing disagreements could disrupt funding and lead to infrastructure issues, causing instability or even temporary outages.
The HMSTR airdrop was initially set for late July but was postponed indefinitely, with the developers citing the complexity of executing such an event.
BeInCrypto reached Eduard Gurinovich, the owner of the Hamster Kombat trademark in Russia, for comments. The project’s team has since cleared up the situation reported in a previous story.
“We’ve had to get involved in dealing with a situation involving several entities and an investment fund that was led to believe they had a stake in Hamster Kombat. We can now confirm that the misunderstanding has been resolved. Hamster Kombat was built and developed by a distributed international team with no investors. Our primary focus is building our ecosystem and conducting the airdrop,” Hamster Kombat representatives told BeInCrypto.
AD.ru also clarified that it has no claims against Hamster Kombat, its team, or its affiliates, including Eduard Gurinovich. The original story published by Lenta was deleted due to poor reporting quality, according to both parties. Currently, Hamster Kombat remains an independent project developed without external investment, with its primary focus on building its ecosystem and engaging its growing community.
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