They spent years creating a game about mutant cats. It sold 500,000 copies in 36 hours

Players send out cats on adventures across an array of environments with randomised enemies and a vast selection of 1,200 abilities and 900 items. — Photos: Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel

Mewgenics, the biggest video game hit of early 2026, wasn't created by a behemoth studio like Nintendo or Electronics Arts.

It was crafted by two Santa Cruz area residents, Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, who worked for six years on the cartoonish, sometimes grotesque strategy game about breeding mutant cats.