Netflix Will Launch an Exploding Kittens Game Next Month, Animated Series in 2023
The Exploding Kittens adult-animated show includes Tom Ellis, Lucy Liu and Abraham Lim among its cast.
Exploding Kittens will get an exclusive version of its mobile game on Netflix in May and an animated series in 2023.
Netflix is adding Exploding Kittens into both its mobile game library next month and its list of originals by adapting the explosive cat card game into an adult-animated series coming in 2023.
The Exploding Kittens mobile game will launch first in May, and it will initially share elements of the existing Exploding Kittens app available in Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store. Both adapt the popular card game, in which players draw from a deck in hopes of avoiding the titular Exploding Kitten card.
This Netflix version will have two exclusive cards that affect gameplay: a Radar card that reveals the closest Exploding Kitten within the deck and a Flip Flop card, which reverses the order of the cards in the entire deck.
The Radar card is exclusive to the Netflix version of Exploding Kittens.
Netflix noted that this version of Exploding Kittens will eventually be enhanced to include elements of the upcoming 2023 animated show, and it will continue to be separate from the $1.99 (£1.79, AU$2.99) version currently available in app stores.
Meanwhile the Exploding Kittens animated series in development already has Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Abraham Lim (The Boys), Lucy Liu (the 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 plot was announced as a literal battle between God and the Devil, in which both entities are somehow sent to Earth in the bodies of "chunky house cats," according to Netflix. While the cast's characters were not announced, it's interesting that Ellis has recently wrapped playing Lucifer after six seasons and is already on a new show with its own catty twist on Heaven and Hell.
The Flip Flop card will flip the deck in Exploding Kittens.
The production team includes Exploding Kittens co-creators Matthew Inman and Elan Lee, with Inman joining Shane Koskowski (You're the Worst) as a showrunner. Lee is among the executive producers, which include the likes of Mike Judge (Silicon Valley) and Greg Daniels (The Office).
Exploding Kittens isn't the first time that Netflix has launched a game themed after one of its shows -- Stranger Things 3: The Game is available in its library and is based on that season of the show. But Netflix Head of Adult Animation Mike Moon said in the announcement that co-development will help develop a universe around both the series and game.
"The co-development of a game and animated series breaks new ground for Netflix," Moon said. "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!"
Inman notes that the Netflix announcement is intended to continue to give back to the Exploding Kittens gaming community, which began back 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 over the past six years. The new series and game will give our fans new ways to connect and interact with the franchise," Inman said.
The launch is the latest move into gaming that Netflix has recently taken, with the streaming service recently adding Trivia Quest and Cat Burglar as interactive shows playable on televisions and mobile devices. The Netflix mobile gaming library, which Exploding Kittens will join, launched last year and has steadily received new games. The gaming offering is included with standard Netflix subscriptions and appears to compete against rivals like Apple Arcade and the Google Play Pass.
