Telegram sport Notcoin kick-started final 12 months’s tap-to-earn revolution that amassed a whole lot of tens of millions of gamers on the messaging app, however enthusiasm for the mannequin has since dwindled following underwhelming token launches tied to more and more overcomplicated schemes.
Now, a 12 months after Notcoin’s NOT token launch sparked the frenzy, the sport’s founders consider that reinventing traditional video video games by way of its not too long ago launched Not Video games platform will immediate the following Telegram gaming growth.
Sasha Plotvinov, co-founder of Notcoin, instructed Decrypt that he believes that demand for tap-to-earn video games didn’t considerably enhance after Notcoin’s launch, although the variety of video games on provide grew exponentially. This oversaturation of the market, he mentioned, is the primary cause why he believes the tap-to-earn style died out so quickly.
On high of saturation, tap-to-earn video games had monotonous gameplay loops consisting of mindlessly tapping your display screen to earn in-game factors. This was all achieved within the pursuit of a future airdrop, which more and more disillusioned contributors most of the time.
As such, Sasha and his brother and fellow Notcoin co-founder Vladimir Plotvinov consider that the way forward for Telegram gaming will probably be specializing in the gameplay above token reward schemes.
“We’re 10, 15, 20 years again… for examples of video games that had been common as a result of folks simply wished to play them,” Sasha instructed Decrypt at Token2049 in Dubai this week. “And we simply take these mechanics and attempt to replicate this in a brand new format, and likewise introduce the second layer of [a crypto] financial system.”
Studying from the tap-to-earn wave, the co-founders consider that making a sustainable financial system by way of its Not Video games platform is essential this time round—on account of the truth that most tap-to-earn token costs plummeted after their respective launches.
These economies will make the most of The Open Community (TON) to permit gamers to commerce skins and different cosmetics on an open market. Sasha burdened that they wish to keep away from “pay-to-win” mechanics in any respect prices.
Sasha appears to be like on the Counter-Strike pores and skin financial system, which is estimated to be value $4.2 billion, and thinks that Telegram gaming wants this too. He factors to the large success of cell video games like Sweet Crush Saga and Conflict of Clans, and believes {that a} sustainable financial system is the apparent subsequent step for the business.
Sasha Plotvinov, Uliana Salo, and Vladimir Plotvinov (from left) of Not Video games at Token2049 Dubai 2025. Picture: Decrypt
However why do that all on Telegram?
“It’s a lot simpler. If you wish to play a traditional sport, you might want to get it on the App Retailer and obtain it,” Vladimir instructed Decrypt. “In Telegram, you don’t need to register as a result of you have already got an account—you’ll be able to simply open the net app and play in a single second.”
With this ease of use additionally comes elevated potential for social virality, which prompted a lot of the rise of tap-to-earn gaming as devs inspired customers to ask buddies in alternate for in-game rewards. Uliana Salo, head of design and product lead for Not Video games, believes that reinvented classics can even reap the benefits of this Telegram characteristic.
In 2024, WeChat claimed that 500 million customers had been enjoying in-app video games on its platform every month. Sasha desires Not Video games to be positioned for the same degree of potential success on Telegram, with the app not too long ago hitting 1 billion energetic customers.
“Telegram permits anybody from anywhere on the planet to only push a button and [play a game],” he mentioned. “From that perspective, I don’t see a cause why Telegram gaming wouldn’t succeed.”
To assist Telegram obtain its gaming future, Not Video games will proceed to reinvent traditional video video games on the messaging app. Not Video games’ first try is a reinvention of the traditional in-browser sport Agar.io, known as Void, however extra video games are within the works.
The Plotvinov brothers didn’t count on Notcoin’s viral success, saying that its success got here nearly too shortly to grasp. From this expertise, they realized that you just don’t need to ship an ideal product to achieve notoriety. As a substitute, they plan to launch good concepts shortly, and keep agile when receiving person suggestions. That’s the technique behind Not Video games.
“We’ll transfer this manner,” Vladimir mentioned. “Typically I meet with builders who’re making an attempt to construct rockets, nevertheless it’s actually not crucial. You can also make a small batch of options, launch it, see it, get suggestions, and work with it.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
GG Publication
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