A Russian financial expert has issued a warning about the popular game Hamster Kombat, following complaints from players after the end of its first season. Many Russian players expressed disappointment, believing they would earn substantial profits from the game.

According to Victor Pekov, an independent financial crime specialist in the crypto space, some players became “hostages of their own expectations,” thinking they would get rich by playing. Pekov said that the game’s developers never promised large financial rewards.

Pekov told RTVI that people overestimated their chances of earning money with Hamster kombat. Many players aimed to collect enough in-game currency to exchange it for real money, but the game’s developers never promised any income. While some were surprised to only earn $5 to $15 after months of playing, Pershikov said this outcome was actually expected and made sense.

“It is obvious that many people who used Hamster were trying to accumulate a sufficient amount of in-game currency in order to exchange it for real money later. And in this regard, it is important to understand that the team never promised anything, did not talk about any potential income,” he said.

Some even went to extremes, buying massage guns to speed up their tapping efforts. Despite this, game developers warned that certain players had used unfair methods, such as bots, and would be excluded from the airdrop.

Further dissatisfaction arose when developers announced that players could only claim part of their token allocations, with the rest being vested for several months. This led to a mix of anger and resignation among players, with some calling the game a scam.

Despite the controversy, developers maintain that no one was promised significant earnings. As the game continues to evolve, with a planned HMS token listing event in September, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold.