Netflix has just made a first-of-its-kind announcement that could signal some big changes coming to the streaming platform. The streamer has announced that it will be releasing a mobile game to go alongside its upcoming animated series Exploding Kittens, an adaptation of the card game of the same name. The series is scheduled for 2023 and will feature the voice talents of Tom Ellis, Abraham Lim, Lucy Liu, and more, with the game launching this May.
The animated series will tell the story of “the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell” as it begins to escalate once God and the Devil both get sent to Earth and are trapped in the bodies of chunky house cats. The mobile game, Exploding Kittens - The Game, will launch directly on the mobile version of the platform and will be available to Netflix subscribers without needing to pay any additional fees or make in-app purchases. The game will simply be a digital version of the physical card game. It will see players drawing cards from a deck, each with their own special powers, trying to avoid the “exploding kitten” card which will cause you to lose the game. This new version of the game will also come with two exclusive cards, with brand-new powers, with plans of adding more exclusive cards in the future to tie in with the series.
Netflix first announced it would be getting the business of video games back in July 2021. It has previously launched a few games that can be found on the mobile version of the streamer, including games based on the hit series Stranger Things. However, this new Exploding Kittens deal is the first time that the game and series have been announced at the same time. When the game launches this May, it will be joining a catalog of games like Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story, and more!
The series will be featuring an all-star voice cast when it releases next year. Ellis is best known for starring in series like Lucifer and Miranda. Lim has starred in series like Clickbait and The Dead Girls Detective Agency. Liu is known for the Kill Bill series, Elementary, and can next be seen playing the villain in the upcoming DC film Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The series will also star Ally Maki (Wrecked, Cloak & Dagger), Mark Proksch (What We Do In The Shadows), and Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live, Home Economics).
Exploding Kittens is coming from showrunners Shane Kosakowski and Matthew Inman with Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, and Dustin Davis serving as executive producers through Bandera Entertainment; Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping serving as executive producers through Chernin Entertainment Group; and the creators of the original card game, Elan Lee and Inman, will also serve as executive producers.
About the announcement, Mike Moon the Netflix Head of Adult Animation, has this to say:
“The co-development of a game and animated series breaks new ground for Netflix. And we couldn’t think of a better game to build a universe around than Exploding Kittens, one of the most inventive, iconic and original games of this century! Netflix is the perfect place to explore this growing franchise, and we are so fortunate to be working with this incredible team!”
Leanne Loombe, the Head of External Games, Netflix, added on to that with:
“Our goal is to offer our members great entertainment they'll love in whatever format they may enjoy - whether it be a game or an animated series. As we expand our mobile games catalog, we're excited to partner with the Exploding Kittens digital team to bring this enjoyable game to all age groups, including a few exciting updates exclusively for our members."
Inman, Exploding Kittens Chief Creative Officer, also gave a statement, saying:
“Netflix is the only service that could bring Exploding Kittens to life in both a series and a game. We actually launched Exploding Kittens on Kickstarter as a weekend project, but our community has been the heart and soul of the company over the past six years. The new series and game will give our fans new ways to connect and interact with the franchise.”
There is currently no release date for Exploding Kittens.