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Telegram and TON drive a new shift in interactive entertainment with instant-play social gaming for 950M users.
Summary
- Telegram’s TON ecosystem is rapidly evolving into a large-scale gaming platform, enabling instant-play, social-first games for its nearly 1 billion users.
- Boinkers is presented as a leading Telegram-based game, claiming strong user retention, large-scale adoption, and high revenue rankings within the platform’s mini-app ecosystem.
- The project is supported by venture funding from firms such as a16z Speedrun and NFX, reflecting growing institutional interest in social and chat-based gaming models on TON.
The landscape of interactive entertainment is undergoing a massive shift, driven by the rapid evolution of Telegram and TON. Once known primarily as a secure, privacy-focused messenger, Telegram has become a global super-app ecosystem. Today, it offers its 950 million active users a seamless gateway to instant-play, social-first games.
With Telegram founder Pavel Durov taking a direct, hands-on role in driving the technical superiority of TON, the ecosystem is experiencing an unprecedented rebirth. Backed by record-low network fees and lightning-fast performance, developers now have a highly resilient foundation to build games that bypass traditional app stores and complex setups entirely.
Boinkers: The undisputed king of Telegram social play
Within this revitalized ecosystem, Boinkers is the ultimate success story. Originally launched in 2024 during the early waves of Telegram gaming hype, Boinkers has proven its incredible longevity. While countless flash-in-the-pan mini-apps collapsed and vanished, Boinkers remained live, vibrant, and backed by a deeply loyal community of over 25 million players.
For two consecutive years, Boinkers has held a dominant spot in the top 3 highest-grossing applications on Telegram, proof of the power of organic, social-first play.
Boinkers’ secret lies in its brand DNA: it’s built for mainstream, competitive, social fun. No barriers. No downloads. No complex onboarding. Players simply launch the game natively inside Telegram and start competing with friends in seconds. Winning is visible, progress is social, and every casual moment turns into shared competition.
The powerhouse behind the project: Acid Labs & Elite VC backing
Recognizing the massive potential of chat-based social play, premier global venture capital firms stepped in early. Acid Labs secured an $8 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Speedrun) and NFX, with support from Fusion VC, making it the first Telegram-based gaming company to receive backing from these top-tier Silicon Valley institutional funds.
A growing multi-game universe: Pokergram, PixelPaws, and Acid ID
Rather than relying on a single title, Acid Labs is building an interconnected gaming hub designed to dominate the messaging space:
Pokergram: A free-to-play poker-style game launched directly inside Telegram, bringing a classic, social card-game experience natively to chat.
PixelPaws: A newly released, deeply satisfying puzzle game built for quick, skill-based play.
Acid ID: The master dashboard that lets players track their progress across every active Acid Labs title from a single, unified interface.
Acid Labs continues to expand its universe through strategic partnerships, including a collaboration with the EVM-compatible TAC blockchain, broadening the technical foundation behind its growing catalog of titles.
Celebrate the rebirth: Join the competition
With Pavel Durov’s leadership bringing a strong, resilient future to Telegram and TON, the next era of social gaming is officially here.
To celebrate this ongoing renaissance and welcome a new wave of casual competitors, Acid Labs is inviting players worldwide to experience the thrill of frictionless, social-first play. The leaderboards are live, the community is buzzing, and the competition is heating up.
Ready to climb the global ranks? Anyone can start by opening Telegram, jumping into the action, and seeing how far they can rise. The next game starts now.
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