Netflix announces a content first: ‘Exploding Kittens’ game and series combo coming soon

The streaming industry has grown exponentially in the past several years. Where there was once only Netflix, now there’s Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and many, many more. In order to differentiate its offerings, Netflix recently got into gaming as well as streaming video. And now the service is announcing another first: they’re set to launch a series and game combo across a single IP.

Today, Netflix has announced its latest piece of original content–an adult animated series based on the popular Exploding Kittens card game. Netflix describes the Exploding Kittens animated comedy series as “the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell reaches epic proportions when both God and the Devil are sent to Earth – in the bodies of chunky house cats.”

But with it, the company is also launching an exclusive digital version of the game, too. While the Exploding Kittens game is already available on other platforms for iPhone and Android, Netflix’s version will eventually feature cards and game mechanics built around its animated series. By leveraging its IP across its video and gaming services, Netflix is hoping to further differentiate not just its platform, but its original IP offerings, from its ever-growing slew of competitors.

Upon Netflix announcing the series/game combo, Matthew Inman, Exploding Kittens chief creative officer and creator of The Oatmeal, said, “Netflix is the only service that could bring Exploding Kittens to life in both a series and a game. We actually launched Exploding Kittens on Kickstarter as a weekend project, but our community has been the heart and soul of the company over the past six years. The new series and game will give our fans new ways to connect and interact with the franchise.”

Exploding Kittens – The Game will launch next month and Exploding Kittens, the adult animated series, will launch in 2023. It stars Tom Ellis, Abraham Lim, Lucy Liu, Ally Maki, Mark Proksch, and Sasheer Zamata. The series is produced by Greg Daniels and Mike Judge.