Alien Worlds: it topped every blockchain-gaming chart for years, then a credible critic said the users were bots.
We're continuing our P2E Crypto Games series with Alien Worlds, a WAX-based mining and governance game developed by Dacoco, a Swiss firm founded in Crypto Valley Zug by Michael Yates, Rob Allen, and financier Sarojini McKenna, who previously played a role in launching EOS. Real, disclosed genuine strengths: credible institutional backing (HG Ventures, Animoca Brands, official Binance Launchpool), a genuinely distinctive federated governance structure of six Planetary DAOs with elected councilors, and a real, disclosed historic run atop DappRadar's blockchain-game rankings by unique wallets. What we don't think should be set aside: a detailed, credible critical source states directly that "most 'players' were bots farming near-worthless tokens" and that "rampant bot activity inflated user numbers dramatically," a genuine, disclosed tension with a separate 2026 source's claim of over 1 million monthly active users. TLM's all-time high is reported wildly inconsistently across sources, from roughly $0.48 to $7.19, though it has declined to the sub-half-cent range regardless of which figure is used. We weighted all of it below.
Our take, up front: Alien Worlds is a mining and governance metaverse built primarily on WAX, with cross-chain bridges to BNB Chain and Ethereum, developed by Dacoco GmbH, a Swiss firm founded in Crypto Valley Zug by blockchain developers Michael Yates and Rob Allen alongside financier Sarojini McKenna. Real, disclosed named, credible founders with real, disclosed prior credentials: the founding team "previously played an important role in launching EOS," a real, significant blockchain project. Real, disclosed credible institutional backing: a seed round from Korean fund HG Ventures (Feb 2021), a private token sale with ten venture funds including Animoca Brands (Mar 2021), and 150 million TLM distributed through an official Binance Launchpool. Real, disclosed genuinely distinctive governance structure: the game operates as a federation of six Planetary DAOs, each with elected councilors holding multi-signature control, a real, disclosed governance design distinct from a single, unified DAO. Real, disclosed genuine historic scale: Alien Worlds reportedly topped DappRadar's rankings as the #1 blockchain game by unique wallets for years running. Real, disclosed thoughtful, deflationary tokenomics elements: token burns from in-game transactions and staking mechanisms that lock TLM out of circulation, alongside a disclosed line-item allocation of 0.78% of total token supply toward security audits, though we found no named audit firm or specific report to independently verify. What we don't think should be set aside: a detailed, credible critical source states directly that Alien Worlds "represents everything wrong with early crypto gaming metrics," explaining that "most 'players' were bots farming near-worthless tokens" and that "rampant bot activity inflated user numbers dramatically," a real, disclosed, pointed critique in direct tension with a separate 2026 source's claim of over 1 million monthly active users and 3.6 million registered users; we found genuine, credible detail supporting real concern on both sides of this dispute. The same critical source describes the core gameplay candidly as "clicking a mine button every few minutes," and separately states the Planetary DAO governance system, while "conceptually interesting," remains "underutilized" in practice. Real, disclosed genuine data-quality problem with TLM's own price history: sources report wildly inconsistent all-time-high figures, ranging from $0.48 (CoinLore) to $0.92 (CryptoSlate) to $7.19 (Coinbase), a roughly 15x discrepancy we could not fully reconcile; the more internally consistent, dedicated sources cluster in the sub-$1 range around late 2021, and regardless of which figure is used, TLM has since declined to the sub-half-cent range as of 2026, a decline of at least 99.4% and potentially far greater depending on the ATH figure used. We weighted all of it below.
Real, disclosed named, credible founders (Michael Yates, Rob Allen, Sarojini McKenna) with real, disclosed prior credentials helping launch EOS. Real, disclosed credible institutional backing (HG Ventures, Animoca Brands, official Binance Launchpool). Real, disclosed line-item allocation toward security audits (0.78% of total token supply), though we found no named audit firm or specific report to independently verify. No confirmed direct hack of Alien Worlds' own game or token contracts was found in our research.
Pros
- Named, credible founders with real, disclosed prior credentials helping launch EOS
- No confirmed direct hack of Alien Worlds' own game or token contracts found in our research
Cons
- A disclosed audit-spending allocation lacks a named firm or verifiable report
Real, disclosed thoughtful deflationary design: token burns from in-game transactions and staking mechanisms that lock tokens out of circulation. What tempers this severely: TLM's all-time high is reported wildly inconsistently across sources, ranging from roughly $0.48 to $7.19, though the more internally consistent, dedicated sources cluster around $0.48-0.92 in the Nov 2021-Apr 2021 window; regardless of which figure is used, TLM has since declined to the sub-half-cent range as of 2026, a decline of at least 99.4% and potentially far greater.
Pros
- Real, disclosed token burns and staking locks reduce circulating supply over time
Cons
- TLM has declined at least 99.4%, and potentially far more, from its all-time high
- Sources disagree by roughly 15x on the exact ATH figure, a real, disclosed data-quality gap
Real, disclosed genuinely distinctive governance structure: six Planetary DAOs, each with elected councilors holding multi-signature control, a real, disclosed federated model distinct from a single, unified DAO. What tempers this: a detailed, credible critical source states directly that this governance system is "conceptually interesting but underutilized," a real, disclosed gap between design ambition and actual, demonstrated use.
Pros
- A genuinely distinctive federation of six Planetary DAOs with elected councilors
Cons
- A credible critical source directly describes this governance system as underutilized in practice
Real, disclosed genuine historic scale: the game reportedly topped DappRadar's rankings as the #1 blockchain game by unique wallets for years. What tempers this significantly: a detailed, credible critical source states directly that "playing" the core loop means "clicking a mine button every few minutes," and separately states that "rampant bot activity inflated user numbers dramatically," a real, disclosed, pointed critique of both the gameplay's depth and the authenticity of its reported historic scale, in real tension with a separate 2026 source's claim of over 1 million monthly active users.
Pros
- A real, disclosed, historic run atop blockchain-game rankings by unique wallets
Cons
- A credible source states directly that bot activity substantially inflated reported user numbers
- The core gameplay loop is candidly described as clicking a mine button repeatedly
Real, disclosed genuinely accessible core mechanic: free-to-play mining requiring only a WAX Cloud Wallet login to begin. What tempers this: the real, disclosed three-chain bridge system (Teleport, requiring both WAX Cloud Wallet and MetaMask) adds real complexity for players wanting to move TLM between chains.
Pros
- Free-to-play mining requires only a single wallet login to begin
Cons
- Moving TLM across chains via Teleport requires managing two separate wallets
Real, disclosed free-to-play core mining mechanic, with no purchase required to begin earning TLM. Real, disclosed additional real-money income streams disclosed directly: land ownership commissions, staking rewards, and NFT trading.
Pros
- Free-to-play mining requires no purchase to begin earning TLM
Cons
- Higher-efficiency tool and land NFTs remain a real, disclosed cost for serious earners
Real, disclosed distinctive NFT "shining" upgrade mechanic and Thunderdome battling feature, plus story-driven Quest missions introduced in 2024.
Pros
- Real, disclosed feature additions (Quests, Thunderdome, shining) layered onto the core loop over time
Cons
- These features remain additions to a core mechanic candidly described as extremely simple
Access only through the official site, and treat any reported user or ranking figure with real skepticism.
Given a credible critical source's direct claim that bot activity substantially inflated reported user numbers, treat any headline "top blockchain game" ranking or active-user figure as a starting point for further verification, not a settled fact, before basing a decision on it.
Years at the top of every chart, and a credible case that the chart itself was the problem.
We want to be direct about what's actually driving this score, because it isn't a hack or a scandal, it's a question about what "most-played" ever really meant here. Alien Worlds has real, credible things going for it: named founders who helped build EOS, real institutional backing, and a governance structure genuinely more ambitious than a simple holder-vote DAO. None of that is in dispute. What is in dispute is whether the wallet counts that made this the most-cited blockchain game of its era reflected people or scripts, and a detailed, credible source doesn't hedge on this: it says bots farmed the mine button, and the user numbers were inflated because of it. We can't independently confirm that claim with certainty, but we also can't ignore a specific, pointed critique from a source that clearly did real work checking. Layer that onto a core loop that even sympathetic coverage describes as clicking a button every few minutes, and a token down at least 99.4% no matter which historical peak you use, and we think the honest read is that Alien Worlds' reputation outran what we could verify was actually happening underneath it.
The scorecard above is deliberately general. Whether Alien Worlds is right for you depends heavily on which of these you already are.
The curious observer genuinely interested in the Planetary DAO governance concept as a design idea, not an income source
This is exactly where Alien Worlds' genuinely distinctive federated governance structure delivers real, conceptual value.
The reader who treats any headline "most-played" ranking or user-count figure as a claim to verify, not a settled fact
Given a credible critical source's direct bot-inflation claim, this skepticism genuinely matters here.
The casual free-to-play miner who understands the core loop is genuinely simple and treats any TLM earned as a minor bonus
This is an honest framing given the candidly described repetitive nature of the core mechanic.
Anyone citing Alien Worlds' historic DappRadar rankings as proof of a large, genuine, non-bot player base
A credible, detailed source directly disputes this exact claim, and we found no way to fully resolve the disagreement.
The scorecard covers the headline judgment calls. These four tables cover the specifics we didn't want to bury in prose; the bot-inflation dispute presented precisely, the ATH discrepancy across sources, the Planetary DAO structure explained, and the founder and funding timeline.
The bot-inflation dispute, presented precisely
| Source | Claim |
|---|---|
| OpenPR (2026 guide) | Alien Worlds has "attracted over 1 million monthly active users by 2026" |
| OneBullEx (2026 analysis) | States "over 3.6 million registered users" as of July 2026 |
| Play2Moon (critical review) | States directly that "rampant bot activity inflated user numbers dramatically" and that reported wallet counts reflected bots, not people |
| Our assessment | We found genuine, credible detail supporting real concern on both sides; the underlying dispute over actual human engagement was not fully resolved |
We're naming this tension directly rather than picking a side; a credible critical source made a specific, pointed claim we could not independently verify, but also could not dismiss.
TLM's all-time high, compared across sources
| Source | Reported ATH |
|---|---|
| CoinLore | $0.564 (Nov 25, 2021), though a separate CoinLore historical page states $0.479 |
| CryptoSlate | $0.92 (Apr 14, 2021) |
| Coinbase | $7.19 (undated) |
This is one of the largest ATH discrepancies we've found in this series, roughly 15x between the lowest and highest figures; we treat the sub-$1 range as more likely accurate given multiple dedicated sources cluster there, but flag the $7.19 figure as an unreconciled outlier rather than silently excluding it.
The Planetary DAO structure, explained
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Structure | Six separate Planetary DAOs, each governing its own planet |
| Leadership | Elected councilors hold multi-signature control over each Planet's treasury |
| Voting mechanism | TLM holders stake tokens to vote on proposals, including mining rewards and treasury allocation |
| Real-world assessment | A credible critical source describes the system as "conceptually interesting but underutilized" |
A federated, multi-planet governance structure is a genuinely distinctive design choice; whether it's meaningfully exercised in practice is a separate, real, disclosed question we couldn't fully resolve.
The founder and funding timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Dacoco GmbH founded in Zug, Switzerland by Michael Yates, Rob Allen, and Sarojini McKenna |
| Dec 4, 2020 | A land-NFT Dutch auction raises roughly $1 million ahead of test launch |
| Feb 2021 | A seed round from Korean fund HG Ventures; TLM launches on Ethereum (Feb 21) |
| Mar 2021 | A private token sale draws ten venture funds, including Animoca Brands |
This is a genuinely credible, real, disclosed funding and founding history independent of any later disputes over reported user activity.
We don't just want to hand you our number; we want to show you how it sits next to what other review desks and comparison sites have published. We're flagging directly that most general coverage repeats Alien Worlds' historic user and ranking figures without engaging with the bot-inflation critique as directly as our methodology does.
Our score lands meaningfully below the aggregated industry average; most sources we found credit the same real institutional backing and distinctive governance structure we weighted favorably, while giving considerably less weight to the bot-inflation critique and the ~15x ATH discrepancy we found central to this review.
| Source | Score | Type |
|---|
Scores compiled by our editorial team from publicly available reviews as of August 2026. "Editorial estimate" means the outlet didn't publish a single numeric score, so we converted their published verdict and sentiment into a comparable 100-point figure. Verify current figures directly with each source before citing them elsewhere.
A credible, detailed critical source states this directly, claiming "rampant bot activity inflated user numbers dramatically." A separate 2026 source claims over 1 million monthly active users. We found genuine, credible detail supporting concern on both sides and could not fully resolve the dispute.
Sources disagree significantly on the exact all-time high, ranging from roughly $0.48 to $7.19. Regardless of which figure is used, TLM has declined to the sub-half-cent range as of 2026, a decline of at least 99.4%.
Michael Yates and Rob Allen, alongside financier Sarojini McKenna, founded Dacoco GmbH in Zug, Switzerland in 2020. The team previously played a role in launching EOS.
No confirmed direct hack of Alien Worlds' own game or token contracts was found in our research. A disclosed line-item allocation toward security audits exists, but we could not verify it with a named firm or specific report.
Yes. Free-to-play mining requires only a WAX Cloud Wallet login to begin earning TLM. Higher-efficiency tools and land NFTs are optional purchases for players who want to earn more.
Alien Worlds is governed by six separate Planetary DAOs, each with elected councilors holding multi-signature control. TLM holders stake tokens to vote on proposals affecting each planet.
The core loop involves mining TLM by clicking a mine button at regular intervals. Additional features include NFT card "shining" upgrades, Thunderdome battles, and story-driven Quest missions introduced in 2024.
Primarily WAX, with cross-chain bridges (Teleport) to BNB Chain and Ethereum, letting TLM move between the three networks.
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