$๐ซ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ข๐ก: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐จ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
A recent example of this darker side is X Empire, a Telegram mini app game built on The Open Network (TON), which has left millions of users feeling deceived and betrayed.
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐: ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ
X Empire promised exclusive airdropsโfree distributions of cryptocurrency tokensโto users who participated in the game. The catch? Players had to pay a fee upfront to claim these airdrops.
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ญ: ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฒ
The game suddenly announced that fees were no longer required to claim airdrops. This unexpected shift immediately raised suspicion among early investors, who had already paid the initial fee. Why had the rules changed?
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฅ: ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง-๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ
X Empire once again changed its airdrop policy. This time, they declared that airdrops would only be given to players who reached certain in-game milestones. The move effectively locked the majority of users out of receiving the promised rewards, unless they were willing to invest more timeโor more moneyโinto the game.
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ
X Empire were left with nothing but frustration, and their experience serves as a cautionary tale for others in the blockchain gaming space.
๐. ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The rise and fall of X Empire highlights the risks of blockchain-based gaming in its current state. The promise of decentralization and play-to-earn models is exciting.
