Notcoin Aims to Revive Telegram Gaming Boom with Classic Game Reinvention

Notcoin’s viral tap-to-earn model last year pulled hundreds of millions of Telegram users into its click-based game, but the format quickly collapsed under the weight of copycats, low-effort mechanics, and airdrop fatigue.

One year later, the creators behind the project are shifting focus, and now say gameplay, not speculation, will define the next wave of Telegram gaming.

Speaking at Token2049 in Dubai, Notcoin co-founder Sasha Plotvinov told Decrypt the genre never expanded beyond the initial hype. 

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Why Telegram Games Died Out

While the number of tap-to-earn clones exploded, demand didn’t follow. Plotvinov said the market was oversaturated and that was essentially the reason why it died out. 

Gameplay loops and engagement mechanics were thin: tap a screen, farm points, wait for a token. The promised airdrops often disappointed (and led to some controversy), and attention quickly drained. For instance, it was in November of last year that Hamster Kombat’s player base plummeted over 86%, following a shady airdrop event.

Now the team is betting on a pivot through their new Not Games platform. The idea is shocking: to make games actually playable and enjoyable. And for that, they want to rework popular game mechanics from the past —decades-old titles people played because they were fun, not because players were paid. 

We are looking at 10, 15, 20 years back… for examples of games that were popular because people just wanted to play them. And we just take these mechanics and try to replicate this in a new format, and also introduce the second layer of [a crypto] economy.

Sasha Plotvinov

That second layer will be built on The Open Network (TON), with a focus on tradable in-game cosmetics. Notcoin wants a functioning marketplace, not another race to dump tokens. Skins and items will be exchangeable between users, but Plotvinov stated the team won’t allow “pay-to-win” mechanics.

Why Telegram?

Telegram’s low-friction environment is the core reason Not Games is building there. “It’s much easier,” said Vladimir Plotvinov:

If you want to play a classic game, you need to get it on the App Store and download it. In Telegram, you don’t have to register because you already have an account. You can just open the web app and play in one second.

Sasha Plotvinov

Telegram recently crossed 1 billion active users. Plotvinov says “from that perspective, I don’t see a reason why Telegram gaming would not succeed.”