The long-awaited TGE for Haunted Space's native token, $GAGA, is finally set to go live today, July 15th at 3 PM UTC, on LFJ, a leading DEX on Avalanche. After months of delays, drama, and shifting strategies, the web3 game built by Galaxy Lab is moving forward with a direct and independent launch, away from its previously announced partner, Black Hole DEX.

Based on the latest announcement, the decision to drop Black Hole was made recently due to increased media attention surrounding the project. The team says they opted for a faster and simpler launch format that stays in line with their original plans. As they stated, the community "has already waited long enough."

TGE Background and Missed Deadlines

Haunted Space first announced a $GAGA launch date of May 29, 2025, with strong backing from a user-generated content (UGC) campaign and a promise of over $100,000 in rewards. But the launch was postponed one day before it was supposed to happen. The team cited strategic alignment with the upcoming debut of Black Hole DEX as the reason.

According to a report from Juice News, the project has raised over $1 million from NFT sales, private rounds, and IDOs. Despite this, many contributors say token rewards are still missing. Haunted Space has claimed that all token rewards were always planned to be distributed at TGE and will now be fulfilled.

Tokenomics: Vesting Reduced, Launch Price at $0.01

The team has not published official tokenomics in their whitepaper. But according to a Discord mod named BETHEL, the $GAGA distribution will follow the same breakdown posted in a Haunted Space tweet from May 27, with one major change: vesting and cliff schedules reduced.

This adjustment appears to be aimed at addressing delays and rewarding early backers sooner. Based on the tokenomics, the public round will receive 6.7% of the supply. Private and strategic rounds, which account for over 24% combined, also receive an initial 10% or 5% unlock. The team and advisor allocation will be unlocked over 30 months but begins with 0% at TGE.

Other key numbers include:

  • Listing price: $0.0100
  • TGE Liquidity: $112,500
  • IMC Exclusive Liquidity: $687,150
  • Fully Diluted Market Cap: $9,000,000

GAGA Token Utility: Central Currency of the Ecosystem

Based on the whitepaper, $GAGA is the premium token used throughout the Galaxy Lab ecosystem. It serves as the main medium of exchange for all payments. Whether users spend in fiat, stablecoins, or crypto, the value ultimately passes through GAGA, either directly or via token buybacks.

Inside the game, players will use a hard currency called H-Bucks, designed to keep prices steady and avoid extreme changes in value tied to token price swings. Players can purchase H-Bucks using GAGA, or buy them with fiat/stablecoins, at which point the project will buy GAGA from the open market, pushing demand for the token.

Haunted Space stresses that GAGA is not a pay-to-win token. The goal is to make all titles on their platform remain free to play while rewarding loyal players through gameplay and ownership.

The Vert1dkrn Controversy and Legal Threats

Just days before today's launch, the project faced public criticism following a viral thread from a 15-year-old content creator known as @vert1dkrn. In the post, he claimed Haunted Space failed to pay promised tokens and shifted deadlines without warning. He also encouraged others to message the project's partners, including Avalanche and Black Hole DEX.

Haunted Space responded with a 10-part tweet thread posted on July 9, stating that the claims were false and defamatory. They emphasized that the creator had been informed rewards would come only after TGE and accused him of spreading misleading headlines that damaged the project's reputation with launch partners.

The post from @vert1dkrn was later removed. He then shared a new tweet, saying: "About to get my first law suit because I fudded a certain game, kinda excited."

Haunted Space confirmed they had contacted him privately and asked him to either edit or remove the post. They did not confirm taking legal action but defended their right to protect the project and its community.

Community Pushback on Social Media

The project's public response to the 15-year-old's claims drew heavy criticism across CT. Several creators and game analysts said the situation could have been better managed.

Commenters called the team's response overblown and claimed it brought more negative attention than the original thread. One tweet from @JesusMartinezEZ read:

"I personally didn't even know this person or thread existed. So I don't think it was even close to endangering you guys. You putting it on blast gave it 100X more attention than it would've had otherwise."

Haunted Space's replies insisted that the viral nature of the post forced their hand, citing damage to their long-standing partner relations and claiming the original post had over 20,000 views, while their clarification tweets saw only a fraction of that reach.

UGC Campaign and Reward Delays

In May, Haunted Space launched a community campaign promising over $100,000 in token rewards for creators promoting the game on X and Discord. Many participants say they registered and created content but received no communication or rewards afterward.

The team said the original marketing lead deleted their Telegram account after claiming it was hacked. They also stated communication continued via Discord, and that all campaign rewards would be issued after the token goes live.

Today's launch is expected to resolve those reward claims, though no updated distribution timeline has been posted yet.

What Is Haunted Space?

Haunted Space is a space shooter game powered by blockchain and set within the Galaxy Lab ecosystem. The game combines deep lore, exploration, and combat in a cinematic sci-fi world. It features both single-player and multiplayer modes, with assets owned onchain.

Haunted Space has received notable support, including an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games. Its trailer was also featured on PlayStation. The project is now building three titles: Haunted Space Arena (Multiplayer), Haunted Space Hell Galaxy (Single Player), and Haunted Space Minigame (on Telegram). 

The team says it has spent four years in development, and has received awards such as Best Upcoming NFT Project by Forbes.