Meowdoku once again showed how a cat theme can help turn a proven gameplay concept into a viral hit.
But does adding cats automatically make any game more successful?
Cats have become one of the strongest mass-market themes in mobile games. They’re instantly recognizable, emotionally appealing, and perform well in creatives. In many ways, they are a powerful UA hook.
But a cat theme alone won’t save a game.
Ultimately, success still comes down to how strong the core loop is. Cats simply get more players through the door.
Looking back over the years, it’s interesting to see just how many genres have benefited from feline appeal.
Battle Cats remains the highest-grossing cat themed game by IAP revenue. Released in 2012, this strategy game has generated nearly $800M in IAP revenue, with Japan continuing to be the strongest market.
Talking Tom helped Outfit7 to built one of mobile gaming’s most recognizable IPs around Tom. While the franchise expanded into multiple genres, endless runners ultimately became its most successful expansion beyond virtual pet games.
Sometimes, cats came from existing IPs too. Simon’s Cat allowed Tactile Games to build a portfolio spanning multiple casual genres, including Match-2 Blast and Match-3. And that’s on top of their other cat IP, Cookie Cats, which also expanded into multiple casual genres.
Hidden object games are another genre to embrace the trend. In 2024, Agave Games launched Find the Cat, which later surpassed 50M downloads. It certainly wasn’t the first hidden object game featuring cats. But its execution and presentation helped it stand out. Simon’s Cat Match even borrowed hidden-object mechanics into its meta, while using “Find the Cat” and coloring creatives as part of its UA → Product funnel.
Cats have also found a home in idle tycoon games. Office Cat and Cats & Soup proved the appeal of cozy management experiences, while Office Cat publisher TREEPLLA built much of its portfolio around the cat-themed games.
Hypercasuals like Duet Cats and I Am Cat, along with hybrid casuals like Drop the Cat and Gun Hero, have embraced cats too. They demonstrated how well the theme resonates with broad audiences, while runners such as Cat Runner and Talking Tom runners further reinforced this trend.
Despites cat themes often making games feel more casual, that hasn’t stopped midcore titles from following the trend. Following Battle Cats, several midcore games including Cat Hero, CATS: Crash Arena and Ninja Defenders, also could find meaningful success.
The main takeaway is that cats don’t guarantee success. Instead, they make already-good games feel more approachable, memorable and easier to market.
What genre do you think will produce the next big cat-themed hit?
