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Stray, released this week, fell in the public’s taste
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Video games always seem to be on the lookout for a new craze, a game that will catch people’s attention and that, with a little luck, will become a trend. Whether Stray will serve as inspiration for other projects is still too early to know, but what can already be seen is the way the game has won over the public.
Although the creation of Stray began in 2015, the general public only became aware of its existence during the Future of Gaming, an event that Sony held in 2020. Debut project by BlueTwelve Studio, a developer founded by enigmatic former employees of Ubisoft, Koola and Viv, people quickly became curious about that “kitten game”.
With the PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions getting a July 19 release date, many were excited to hear that the title would be made available to PS Plus Extra, Deluxe and Premium subscribers. Meanwhile, on computers, those interested took to Steam to add Stray to their wishlists, making it reach the top of the service.
All this indicated that the creation of BlueTwelve Studio would have a beautiful path ahead, but perhaps not even its creators imagined the buzz that the game would cause. On social media, it was possible to see a flurry of messages speaking well of the title, with people who are playing praising everything from the beautiful artistic direction to the way the game simulates the behavior of cats.
What few could have predicted, however, was the interest that this “cat simulator” would arouse in our pets. Since the launch of Stray, you can find several photos of cats watching the game, something I could witness here at home, while exploring that fantastic post-apocalyptic world.
Such success can also be seen by the numbers. While on Twitch the peak viewers surpassed the 284,000 mark, on Steam, 97% of the more than 18,000 reviews were positive. On Valve’s store, the game registered nearly 63,000 people playing it simultaneously, quite a feat for an independent title.
So it’s no surprise that Stray emerges as the biggest release from Annapurna Interactive, the company responsible for publishing the game. The list below shows the number of concurrent players in other games from the publisher in the days of their release, illustrating better the size of the success:
- Twelve Minutes– 8.021
- Outer Wilds– 7.936
- Neon White– 3.277
- Journey– 1.757
At the time of writing this text, the game by BlueTwelve Studio was “only” in 27th place among the most played games on Steam, with 30,000 simultaneous players. That might be a far cry from the 686,000 recorded by the first, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but it still put it ahead of much-loved games like Elden Ring, NBA 2K22, Euro Truck Simulator 2, and Fall Guys.
Stray helping the stray cats
And if Stray’s performance is certainly being celebrated by both publisher and developer people, there are also those who will somehow benefit from the light the title has shed on the abandoned critters.
Since the game’s launch, some organizations dedicated to rescuing animals have taken advantage of the public’s interest to try to collect donations, an initiative that has been fruitful. Using Stray as “bait”, streamers like Crits For Cats are doing gaming sessions and taking the opportunity to show the kittens found on the street, in order to gain the empathy of the viewers.
One entity that directly benefited was the Nebraska Humane Society. After being approached by Annapurna, they were given four game codes to be raffled off, which allowed them to raise more than $7,000 from 560 donors. “That was especially notable, because most of these donations came from people who had never donated before,” said the society’s marketing specialist Brendan Gepson.
With the money going directly to help care for the animals and with over 4,000 of them having been rescued this year alone, 80 are still waiting to be adopted and of course any help to the Nebraska Humane Society (or the many other entities for that matter) will always be appreciated. welcome.
However, perhaps the biggest contribution the BlueTwelve Studio title is making is how it has made some people look more fondly on cats. Even with his story taking place in a dystopian future, where robots have replaced humans and carnivores are ready to devour anything they come across, Stray fascinates with the way he represents cats.
With great attention to detail, the behavior of the orange cat that we control will be quickly identified by those who share the house with these animals. From scratching surfaces to sleeping in the most unlikely places, even the “lock” they give when putting on an outfit has been recreated.
Now, my hope is that the game’s success will lead us to several other adventures starring pets. If I could choose, I’d love to see something similar made with dogs, but I believe a futuristic “bird simulator” could also be a lot of fun. In the meantime, as soon as you get the chance, play Stray—and most importantly, don’t mistreat the animals!
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