Players of X Empire, a Telegram-based game, are expressing frustration over their exclusion from a recent X token airdrop.

The game’s use of “active friends” as a key eligibility criterion has led many to feel unfairly left out, sparking complaints across social media.

Some players have even taken to contacting Elon Musk, despite his lack of involvement with the game, due to its earlier association with his name.

What is X Empire?

Initially launched under the name Musk Empire, X Empire is a tap-to-earn game available on Telegram featuring cartoonish avatars inspired by Elon Musk and allows players to earn tokens by completing in-game tasks.

The game was renamed to X Empire, likely to avoid potential legal issues associated with Musk’s name and claims to have attracted over 50 million players since its launch.

As the game prepares to launch its X token on The Open Network (TON) on October 24, players were expecting to receive X tokens through an airdrop based on certain criteria revealed earlier this month.

Why are players complaining?

The controversy arose when X Empire revealed that the airdrop was based on a number of factors, with the most significant being the number of “active friends” a player had.

This has led many players to believe that the allocation was unfair, with some arguing that the criteria were not clearly communicated in advance. Out of the claimed 50 million players, only about 6 million were deemed eligible for the airdrop.

Players excluded from the airdrop took to platforms like X and Telegram to voice their concerns with some even directing their frustrations toward Elon Musk, mistakenly assuming he was associated with the game due to its previous branding as Musk Empire.

The connection to Elon Musk stems from the game’s original name, Musk Empire, which featured avatars modeled after the tech billionaire. Although the game rebranded to X Empire and Musk has no official ties to the game, some players believe he is involved.

Tweets directed at Musk accuse the game of being a scam and ask him to intervene.

Developer’s Response

Alex Falcon, the creator of X Empire, addressed the complaints in a Telegram post, explaining that “active friends” were a key factor in determining airdrop eligibility, along with other metrics like profit-per-hour and quest completion.

Falcon stated that those who were truly engaged with the game were rewarded and that the X token will have future utility in upcoming projects from the team, including new apps.

Despite this clarification, many players remain dissatisfied with the airdrop process, comparing it to other recent Telegram-based games where airdrop allocations have similarly sparked player frustration.