‘Hamster Kombat’, Other TON Games Protest Arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

The developers of prominent Telegram-based crypto games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin have put out messages and in-game content protesting the late Saturday arrest of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov, showing solidarity across games that have collectively attracted hundreds of millions of players.

Following news of Durov’s arrest on Saturday, prominent Telegram crypto games began sharing an animated sticker featuring the Telegram app icon to their community channels, which in some cases were followed by messages decrying the move by French authorities.

The 39-year-old billionaire was arrested Saturday evening in France after stepping off his private jet from Azerbaijan, television network TF1 reported, citing sources familiar with the move.

Durov was reportedly detained for offenses tied to a lack of moderation by the messaging platform over alleged illegal acts by its users, including actions related to facilitating terrorism, the sale of narcotics and stolen goods, and child sexual abuse material.

Telegram representatives did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment on Saturday, and have yet to publicly comment on the reported arrest. The news quickly shot across the crypto industry and yielded an array of reactions from investors and builders alike, including the creators of some of the biggest crypto games built on Telegram.

“Charging for technology is the dumbest thing ever,” the official Notcoin community channel wrote in relation to the arrest, adding, “Privacy is not a crime.”

Hamster Kombat, which has reportedly drawn more than 300 million players to date with promises of an upcoming airdrop on the Telegram-affiliated The Open Network (TON), added a “#FREEDUROV” card to the game on Sunday. It echoed Notcoin’s statement, titling the card, “Privacy is not a crime.”

“As a community committed to freedom of speech and decentralization, we stand firmly by Pavel during this challenging time,” the official TON account tweeted late Saturday. “Pavel has been a dedicated advocate for these values, and we believe his efforts to promote an open and decentralized internet will continue to inspire millions.”

The backlash to Durov’s arrest has not been limited to blockchain game developers, however, nor the crypto community. Other notable figures have spoken out about the move, including Twitter owner Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden—the latter of which called out French President Emmanuel Macron.

“The arrest of Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association,” Snowden tweeted Sunday. “I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France, but the world.”