Stray the video game that saves cats in the real world

The video game "Stray" helps cats in the real world

Ivan Rodriguez Gelfenstein - Thanks to online fundraising platforms, play "Stray" during its live stream to help the public raise money for animal shelters and other cat-related charities.

The live broadcast of a game for charity is not new, but the recent resonance of "Stray" seen among cat lovers is unusual. It was the fourth most-watched and streamed game on the day of its release on Twitch, the streaming platform said.

Viewers watch as players guide the feline adventurer through an ancient industrial landscape by doing the normal things of a cat: keeping balance in the boxes, walking on keyboards, and dropping items on the shelves, to solve puzzles and escape to enemies.

So Soots has fallen in love with the #Stray cat 😭❤️ pic.twitter.com/SC99JxyVnu

— MB Art (@MagicBunnyArt) July 20, 2022

About 80% of the game's development team are "cat owners and cat lovers," and a real orange stray cat, along with their own pets, helped inspire the game, one creator says.

"I certainly hope some people can get inspired to help stray cats in real life, knowing that having a pet and a companion is a responsibility," said producer Swann Martin-Raget of game studio BlueTwelve. in Montpellier, in the south of France.

The shelter received four copies of the game to give away and asked for donations of $5 to participate in a raffle and win one. Within a week, $7,000 was raised, Gepson said, and the vast majority of the original 550 were new to them, including people from Germany and Malta. The company also donated $1,035 to the shelter.

"It was really beneficial for both sides," Gepson said. "They have excellent pr and we have a new base."

she thinks the stray cat is real 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/mlDttap8IS

— Sarah Burssty 🎗 (@SarahBurssty) August 3, 2022

Jeff Legaspi, chief marketing officer at Annapurna Interactive, said it made sense that the game's release "would have a positive impact and hopefully raise awareness about adoption rather than buying a new animal from the company."