Exploding Kittens – the animated series and video game on Netflix
Netflix will add Exploding Kittens both to its library of mobile games and its roster of original animated series by adapting the explosive cat card game to an adult cartoon coming in 2023.
The mobile game Exploding Kittens will first release in May and will initially share elements of the existing Exploding Kittens app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Both the mobile game and the animated series are adaptations of the popular card game, in which players draw a card from a deck in hopes of avoiding the one containing Exploding Kitten.
This Netflix version will have two exclusive cards that affect gameplay: a Radar card, which reveals the closest exploding kitten within the deck, and a Flip Flop card, which reverses the order of cards in the entire deck.
The creators of King of the Hill are involved, along with the original creators of Exploding Kittens.
The company is also releasing a brand new Exploding Kittens mobile game!
The producing team includes Exploding Kittens co-creators Matthew Inman and Elan Lee, with Inman joining Shane Koskowski (You're the Worst) as showrunner. Lee is among the executive producers, which include the likes of Mike Judge (Silicon Valley) and Greg Daniels (The Office).
It's not the first time that Netflix has launched a themed game. After the success of Stranger Things came the game Stranger Things 3: The Game. Mike Moon, the head of animation for adults at Netflix, said that the simultaneous release of the animated series and game, will help develop the entire universe of characters.
“The joint development of a game and an animated series opens new horizons for Netflix,” said Moon. “And we couldn't think of a better game on which to build a universe than Exploding Kittens, one of the most inventive, iconic and original games of this century!”
Inman notes that Netflix's announcement intends to continue giving back to the Exploding Kittens gaming community, which began in 2015 when the original game's Kickstarter campaign raised $8,7 million.
“We actually launched Exploding Kittens on Kickstarter as a weekend project, but our community has been the heart and soul of the company for the past six years. The new series and new game will offer our fans new ways to connect and interact with the franchise,” Inmann said.
The launch is the latest move in gaming Netflix has recently taken, with the streaming service adding Trivia Quest and Cat Burglar as interactive shows playable on TVs and mobile devices. Netflix's mobile games library, which will be joined by Exploding Kittens, launched last year and has consistently received new games. The game deal is included with standard Netflix subscriptions and appears to compete with rivals such as Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass.
Netflix has noted that this version of Exploding Kittens will eventually be enhanced to include elements from the upcoming 2023 animated show and will continue to be separate from the $1,99 (£1,79, AU$2,99) version currently available in apps store.
Meanwhile the Exploding Kittens animated series in development already has Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Abraham Lim (The Boys), Lucy Liu (upcoming Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Elementary), Ally Maki (Wrecked), Mark Proksch (What We Do in the Shadows) and Sasheer Zamata (Woke, Saturday Night Live) in its cast.
The storyline has been billed as a literal battle between God and the Devil, in which both entities are somehow sent to Earth in the bodies of "heavy house cats," according to Netflix. While the cast hasn't been announced, it's interesting that Ellis recently wrapped up playing Lucifer after six seasons and is already in a new show with his mischievous turn in Heaven and Hell.
