Projects offering to earn tokens for completing simple tasks by tapping on the screen no longer attract attention. The developers believe that they will be replaced by "more exciting" formats.
The co-founders of Notcoin, Sasha and Vladimir Plotvinov, in a conversation with Cointelegraph at the Token2049 conference, stated that the format of tap-to-earn gaming cryptoprojects (clicker-games) is "probably dead." The developers noted that this type of game is already unprofitable and new ones are coming to replace it.
Tap-to-Earn (T2E) is a blockchain gaming concept that combines simple game mechanics with the ability to earn cryptocurrency. The user performs simple "taps" (clicks) to complete tasks and receives a reward in project tokens for this.
Notcoin became one of the main Web 3 projects in Telegram in 2024, attracting about 30 million players. His NOT token has since dropped by more than 90% from its peak values.
Currently, NOT ranks 172nd in the CoinMarketCap ranking with a capitalization of $228 million (at its peak it was $2.4 billion).
According to the Plotvinovs, clicker games no longer holds the attention of users, and game creators are moving on to more exciting and socially oriented projects. In the new formats, the in-game economy remains, but as an addition, rather than the basis of gameplay.
According to Sasha, Telegram games have begun to switch to models that move away from simply "growing" tokens. In these new games, the Web3 economy becomes an "add-on" rather than a core value proposition.
However, Plotvinov noted that there are no "real games" in Telegram yet. Notcoin also stated that the messenger gaming industry currently lacks large developers and investors, but the crypto project team expects significant ecosystem growth in the future.
The total capitalization of crypto gaming projects is about $12.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap on May 5. Of these, the tap-to-earn category accounts for approximately $750 million.
The capitalization of tokens from Telegram games such as Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) and Catizen (CATI) decreased by 74% and 93%, respectively, from the peaks in September 2024.
The Notcoin case showed that the clicker game itself has no long-term future, the experts surveyed noted at the peak of the popularity of clicker games. But the game developers quickly realized that new mechanics needed to be added to develop the project.
Another previously acclaimed crypto project, Hamster Kombat, released the second season of the game this year, launched its Hamster Network blockchain and announced the opening of an accelerator for application creators on it.
Despite the active development and updates, the project has lost the vast majority of the audience. As of May 5, the Telegram mini-app has 5.6 million monthly active users, while in August 2024, according to the developers, the game's audience reached 300 million players.
