The founder of Catly, a new video game described as “AI-slop” that debuted at the 2024 Game Awards in Los Angeles last week has a history with failed NFT and blockchain games.
The first game from SuperAunthenti Co., Catly’s trailer left X users questioning how it secured a Game Awards spot and promotion by big-name influencers, such as Pokimane and Ninja.
The studio’s co-founder, Kevin Yeung, also launched TenthPlanet, a game company focused on Web3, NFTs, digital ownership, and blockchain-based games. In 2022, his studio reportedly planned to launch two blockchain games and sunk $2.5 million into a cat-themed project called Alien Meow.
This “cat metaverse” planned to “generate in-game value from breeding, much like CryptoKitties,” Yeung claimed. A beta was supposed to release by early 2023 but this never happened. Its other blockchain game, Mech Angel, is also nowhere to be found.
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Gaming news outlet 80 Level was able to confirm claims made by one Reddit sleuth, that SuperAuthenti Co is the shareholder, and owner, of Shanghai Binmao Technology. This studio created an app called Plantly: Mindful Gardening, which featured plants as “digital tokens.”
Staff at Binmao Technology were also found to have spent three months working on a metaverse game called Catly.
So, does Yeung’s new Catly game have NFTs? Nowhere in the game’s marketing or website is there any mention of them, however, its design is reminiscent of NFT projects, with flashy 3D renders used to showcase in-game cosmetics.
The described gameplay is also very reminiscent of Alien Meow.
Screenshots from the Catly site showcasing “product” collections.
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Regardless, some users are concerned that the game might have NFTs. Others are upset by Catly’s apparent use of AI-generated images and compared it to “AI-slop.” Some called it a “100% scam” and raised suspicions about its planned Apple Watch release.
The Catly X account was created last May and has just over 1,300 followers. It has posted 18 times and is now hiding AI-related comments under its posts. Kevin Yeung has also deleted his LinkedIn profile.
