SAN FRANCISCO: Mewgenics, the early 2026 breakout video game, wasn’t developed by a major studio—it was created by two independent developers from the Santa Cruz area, Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, who spent six years building the quirky, sometimes grotesque strategy game about breeding mutant cats.
The game launched on Steam on Tuesday, selling 500,000 copies in just 36 hours and generating $13.5 million (RM52.6 million) in revenue. It currently holds the highest review score of 2026 and is being discussed as a potential “Game of the Year.”
For McMillen, whose career spans 25 years and includes hits like Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, Mewgenics marks his biggest launch yet. The game’s success demonstrates that small teams can achieve blockbuster results even as much of the California-based gaming industry faces layoffs, cancellations, and disruption from artificial intelligence.
Mewgenics does not shy away from the messy side of pet ownership—poop, blood, and death are part of its signature hand-drawn style. Cats in the game can develop disorders and diseases, including ADHD, cancer, and even COVID. The title’s name satirically references the pseudoscience of eugenics.
Originally announced in 2012, the project was canceled and then revived in 2018. Over six years of development, McMillen focused on world-building and art, while Glaiel handled coding hundreds of characters, mechanics, and enemies. They also hired a small team of artists, engineers, and musicians, marking the largest team they’ve worked with on a game.
The gameplay draws from turn-based grid combat of Final Fantasy Tactics and Dungeons & Dragons, creature collection like Pokémon, and furniture hoarding as in Animal Crossing. Players send cats on adventures across varied environments, facing randomized enemies with a selection of 1,200 abilities and 900 items. McMillen estimates the average player will spend 250 hours to complete the game, with deeper secrets requiring even more time. Expansion packs are planned for the future.
-Advertisement-
The game attracted a cult following even before launch, with one fan creating fan art for 1,757 consecutive days, and McMillen building ~300,000 followers on TikTok and X during development. The developers self-managed marketing, translations, and livestreamed gameplay daily in the two weeks leading to release, drawing hundreds of fan participants.
While indie game development is experiencing a renaissance, McMillen and Glaiel’s success remains exceptional in a crowded market where most Steam releases fade quickly. McMillen encourages aspiring developers to “stick to your guns, be true to yourself, and honest to your work.”
For Glaiel, the success will finally allow him to afford a home in Santa Cruz, a city both developers credit for shaping their creativity.
– San Francisco Chronicle / Tribune News Service
-Thestar
