After stirring up controversy at The Game Awards, Catly developer SuperAuthenti Co. has clarified that its game does not use generative AI or blockchain technology, Digital Trends confirms.
Catly is an upcoming open-world adventure game that got a teaser trailer at this year’s Game Awards. As soon as it aired, social media users began speculating about whether the “photorealistic” trailer used generative AI. When Digital Trends first asked a PR representative for SuperAuthenti if the trailer or project, which is described as being “technologically innovative” and featuring unique cats for every user, uses AI, we were initially told that the studio would not be answering further questions until 2025.
In the wake of speculation, a SuperAuthneti Co. spokesperson has now confirmed that no generative AI was used to “produce the video and the game.” Digital Trends also viewed a progress video showing off how the trailer was made, which did highlight underlying 3D models. This information matches what was told to both IGN and Game Developer earlier today.
Catly Trailer 4K – THE GAME AWARDS 2024
The spokesperson also claims that the project is “not a blockchain game” nor does it use NFTs. That became a topic of speculation after users connected SuperAuthenti co-founder Kevin Yeung to TenthPlanet, a web3 studio that was working on a blockchain game called Alien Meow in 2022, which had a similar description to Catly, according to GamesBeat.
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Even with that confirmation, there are still several unanswered questions around Catly. Though the studio says that AI was not used in the production of its reveal trailer, its statement does not confirm whether it was used in addition marketing assets. That includes its Steam page, which some have speculated used AI to generate its game description. It’s also unclear what Catly‘s advertised technological innovation is and how it will be able to give each player a unique cat. Then there’s the question of how an open-world MMO will work on an Apple Watch. We’ll have to wait longer for those answers; further details will not be revealed until 2025, the spokesperson says.
The final mystery lies around the newly founded studio itself, whose ownership outside of Yeung is still unknown. Digital Trends asked if TenthPlanet co-founder William Wei Chen is involved with SuperAuthenti, but the studio isn’t revealing details about its staff or connections to previous companies yet.
Catly is scheduled to release in 2025 for PC, Apple Watch, and Nintendo Switch.
As Digital Trends‘ Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…
The best weird little guys of 2024’s video games
We’ve finally finished 2024 — and thank God for that. While it may have been a busy year for new video games, I’m ready to never look at one again. All video games are over until further notice. We’ve already posted our best games of 2024 list; what more do you want!? But before we get into 2025, there is one more 2024 gaming reflection we need to do: That’s right, it’s time for the best weird little guys of 2024.
If you’re new here let me break it down for you. This is not a list of the weirdest creatures I’ve found in video games. This is not a list of horrors beyond your mind’s comprehension. This is simply a list of the top 10 characters that fit the criteria for being a „weird little guy“ in video games this year. That criteria is a little nebulous. It’s mostly a vibes based thing — one of those „you’ll know it when you see it“ sort of deals. A weird little guy does not need to be physically little, but can be. It has to catch you off guard in some interesting way. Something unique about it just screams out „I belong here but I also don’t.“ So without further ado, let’s get into it.
10. The Unnamed Salesman — Thank Goodness You’re Here
The latest Meta Quest update has been bricking headsets
With the holiday season having just passed, many people find themselves in possession of a new VR headset. Unfortunately, the most recent Meta Quest update — version 72 — is encountering a bug on certain Meta Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest 3S headsets that essentially turns them into expensive paperweights, but Meta says a fix is on the way.
The v72 update has failed to install, and when it does, users receive a black screen that just says, „Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted.“ Meta offers a bit of advice: Press and hold the Power button for 45 seconds before booting up. In theory, this should clear the headset and solve any major issues, but a lot of users have said the fix doesn’t work for them, according to Android Central.
A WoW Classic player attempted to recreate the Corrupted Blood incident
In 2005, World of Warcraft saw one of the strangest events in MMO history: the Corrupted Blood event, a plague that spread from person to person and infected so many players (around 4 million) that it was used by real-world scientists to study the spread of a pandemic. Now a player has, somehow, brought the plague back to Stormwind, although to a less-devastating outcome.
The video was uploaded to the Classic Wow subreddit by u/Lightstruckx. It shows the familiar red flash of the Corrupted Blood debuff as it affects nearly every single player on screen. When this plague last struck, it left a trail of destruction that reached across all of Azeroth. The game held no cure for the debuff, and it would hit characters for anywhere from 263 to 337 points of damage every two seconds.
