The unassuming early access Quest game I Am Cat has taken off in a matter of months, spreading virally through social media with videos of its feline antics. We reached out to the developer New Folder Games to learn more about its recipe for success.
I Am Cat, developed by New Folder Games, is a Quest game that’s found significant success despite still being in Early Access (formerly ‘App Lab’). After just a year in development and less than five months of availability in Early Access, the $15 game has amassed nearly 40,000 user reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars.
That puts it far ahead—in both number of ratings and review score—of big budget releases like Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (3.9K reviews, 4.3 score), Resident Evil 4 VR (12K reviews, 4.7 score), Asgard’s Wrath II (4.8K reviews, 4.2 score), and plenty more.
The game’s rapid growth is seemingly thanks to strong viral momentum driven by its novel and somewhat comedic role-play gameplay. You can easily find individual videos of the game with millions or tens of millions of views on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. The game is also another example of the growing trend (and apparent demand) for VR games with arm-based locomotion.
I Am Cat isn’t the studio’s only successful project. Its two other notable games, both released within months of I Am Cat, have also found reasonably strong traction and high scores.
I Am Security (also in Early Access) boasts 12K reviews and a score of 4.8 out of 5, while Titans Clinic has a respectable 5K reviews and a score of 4.8.
Having one highly successful and two reasonably successful Quest games released in the same year is a strong argument that I Am Cat’s allure is more than just a fluke—this studio has a clear insight into what a chunk of Quest users are looking for and has created a repeatable strategy for delivering it.
But it took a lot of experimentation to get there. If there’s one thing that clearly defines New Folder Games up to this point, it’s the studio’s ability to rapidly experiment. The aforementioned titles are just three of nine (yes nine) Quest games the studio has released in the last year… many in the same month:
Most of the games from the studio are built around fairly ‘wacky’ premises that run counter to what you might think VR gamers would be looking for. But it seems I Am Cat—the only one of the bunch that has players playing from an explicitly non-human perspective—is the one that’s resonated the most. Perhaps because players are familiar with how cats behave, but are uniquely intrigued by the opportunity to see and interact with the world through their eyes—in a comedic, slapstick kind of way, anyway.
So how did New Folder Games get here and where is it headed?
The studio tells Road to VR that New Folder Games was founded in Cyprus in 2019 and employs around 15 people, many working remotely.
“The idea for I Am Cat came from our love for pets, especially cats—each team member owns a cat. During a call, one of our team members said, ‘What if I were a cat in VR? And instead of a hand, it would be a paw’—and boom, everything came together,” the studio says.
Development on I Am Cat started in Q1 2023. Just about a year later, the game was launched in Early Access. Five months after the launch, the game has amassed more reviews than the vast majority of other Quest titles.
“We believe the key to I Am Cat’s popularity is people’s love for pets, particularly cats. Additionally, there aren’t many fun VR games, which makes it stand out,” the studio said matter-of-factly.
As for the future of the game? The studio plans to add more content ahead of its full launch at the end of 2024.
“We plan to release the full game around December 2024, with additional locations, mechanics, quests, and characters. We will continue to support the game with new content and some exciting stuff. Our vision for the 1.0 release is a highly polished game packed with rich content for players to enjoy.”
Right now I Am Cat is only available on Quest, but the studio says it plans to release the game on Steam, PSVR 2, and Vision Pro as well.
Although I Am Cat seems to be the studio’s highest priority, the subsequently launched I Am Security is also gaining traction and the studio says it’s continuing development on that game, in addition to work on a “new secret project.”
While those two titles and the unannounced project have the studio’s attention for now, New Folder Games tells Road to VR we may not have seen the last of its rapid prototyping strategy.
“Right now, almost everyone is working on the I Am Cat title. However, there’s still a chance we might split up [into groups] and release another nine titles in one year!” the studio says.
