In this era where "no one knows how many clouds there are in the sky", Catizen has rushed into the Web3 game arena like a bullet, and has become an indispensable star in this field.
As a super casual cat-raising game based on the Telegram ecosystem, Catizen has captured the hearts of players with its simple but addictive gameplay and the impressive slogan "Play for Airdrop". Since its public beta in March 2024, this seemingly ordinary game has attracted more than 1 million players in just one week, instantly becoming a phenomenal product on the Telegram platform.
But this trend is not a flash in the pan. As of press time, Catizen's daily active users have soared to 7 million, with more than 2.76 million on-chain users and more than 36.58 million on-chain transactions. At the same time, the number of Twitter followers has reached 2.79 million, and the number of subscribers to the Telegram channel has reached 8 million. The momentum is so fierce that many Web3 projects are daunted.
In the past few months, Catizen has completed three rounds of financing, with the latest round led by Binance Labs. All of this not only allows Catizen to gain a firm foothold in the Web3 ecosystem, but also paves the way for the upcoming exchange launch.
On September 20, Catizen will officially land on OKX, Bybit, Gate, Bitget and other well-known exchanges, and Catizen's token CATI will also usher in a broader market.
The gameplay of this ultra-casual game seems simple on the surface, but it has hidden mysteries. Players will become cat cafe owners and can manage up to 12 cats at the same time. Every two cats of the same level can be synthesized into a higher-level cat, and cats can also produce tokens. As the cat's level increases, the token output rate will gradually increase. Players can use these tokens to buy higher-level cats in the store, thereby speeding up the game progress. Catizen also cleverly integrates the social fission mechanism into the game. Players get rewards by inviting new users, and the fission method brings greater user growth and activity to the game. This reminds people of "Cute Dog Transformation" in the WeChat mini-game ecosystem in 2018. While inheriting the classics, Catizen has added blockchain elements and airdrop surprises to play new tricks.
It is such a seemingly simple cat-raising game, but Catizen performs well in various fields - product development on the TG side, community operation, and traffic monetization.
Is Catizen "standing still and making money" in the Web3 game track?
What surprises can the launch of CATI tokens bring to everyone?
Today, we are honored to invite Geezee, consultant of Catizen and game director of Mantle ecosystem, to reveal the story behind this game. The following is the full conversation:
Team and project development: Diversified background, precise strategic financing
MarsBit: I am very happy to have the opportunity to communicate with you in depth. First of all, could you please introduce your background? Including your educational experience and your experience in the field of Web3 and entrepreneurship, how have these experiences shaped your unique perspective on Web3?
Geezee: I come from the gaming industry and have led the release teams of multiple games, such as League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, TapTap, Ragnarok, Game of Thrones, and Transformers 3. Web3 technology is a new field that I am very interested in, and I believe it has the potential to completely change the development and gameplay of games. I want to be at the forefront of the gaming industry, so I formed my own team and released some Web3 games. At the same time, I also share my experience and support the development of multiple projects such as Catizen, Metacene, and Party Icons.
MarsBit Finance: There is a Chinese saying that goes, "One hero needs three helpers." Any successful project is inseparable from an excellent team. How did Catizen build its own team? What is the background of the founding team? Are there any interesting stories during the formation process?
Geezee: Catizen’s team mainly comes from three backgrounds:
Pinduoduo - successfully attracted hundreds of millions of users to participate in e-commerce activities through social marketing strategies. This experience laid the foundation for our user introduction in the Web3 field.
WeChat Mini Games - Since 2017, our team has successfully released a number of WeChat Mini Games and accumulated rich experience in social operations, which are particularly suitable for application in Telegram Mini Games.
Casual Games - I have personally worked on the launch of casual games such as Crossy Road and Ski Safari, which have accumulated over 300 million downloads, and this experience has been crucial in driving the success of Catizen.
MarsBit Finance: I noticed that Catizen's revenue has been growing since its launch, and its total revenue has exceeded 23 million US dollars. In this case, why did the team accept investment from various institutions? Can you share the financing process of Catizen? Especially the background of the recent strategic investment from Binance Labs?
Geezee: Actually, our revenue is close to 30 million USD. We plan to use this money to further develop Catizen and grow the community, with the goal of building Catizen and Cati tokens into a multi-billion dollar brand.
One of our first investors was Mantle, and their support made us realize the importance of having strategic investors. In the latest round of financing, we rejected investments from more than 20 funds and only accepted investors with strategic cooperation potential. As for Binance Labs' investment, due to the signing of a confidentiality agreement, the details cannot be disclosed, but we value their support very much.
Web3 game development and challenges: Deepen game development and innovate token economy design
MarsBit Finance: You have extensive experience in investing in and participating in WeChat and Facebook games. Can you share how these experiences have impacted you in developing Web3 games? What special insights or challenges have these experiences brought? Are there any particularly meaningful discoveries?
Geezee: Our experience in publishing HTML5 games has really helped us in our development in Web3 games. We borrowed strategies from successful HTML5 games and adjusted some outdated methods to make them more suitable for the Web3 environment. One of the biggest challenges was to design a reasonable token economic model to ensure the value of the token while also incentivizing core users. This process took many attempts and failures until we found the best solution for now. The turning point was when we got the support of the Mantle ecosystem, not only did we get help from TON and Telegram, but we also learned a lot from their help.
MarsBit Finance: CATI tokens will be listed on exchanges on September 20. According to the token economics disclosure, 43% of the tokens will be used for user airdrops. Can you share the strategy behind this design? How do users use these airdropped tokens? What are your expectations for the market performance of the tokens?
Geezee: Our token economic model has been tested and adjusted many times, and the core concept is to ensure that the number of tokens in circulation is balanced with the governance rights of holders. $CATI is Catizen's governance and utility token, issued based on Mantle and TON chain. It has multiple uses in the ecosystem, such as purchasing applications in Catizen Game Center, and community governance. The token will also play a key role in the launch pool, game center and open tasks. Users can participate in Launchpool and earn income by staking tokens.
Users who hold $CATI tokens will have the power to decide which games they want to support in Launchpool. Considering the high demand of Catizen Game Center, we already have thousands of games waiting to use Launchpool, and users can vote for the next game they want to play with $CATI tokens.
MarsBit: You mentioned that you plan to build a multi-layered ecosystem, but many GameFi projects often fall into unsustainable business models. How does Catizen ensure the sustainability and long-term success of the game life cycle? What are the biggest challenges?
Geezee: The core of any game is that as a commercial product, it must have a sustainable source of income. Many failed projects try to make a profit by selling tokens and NFTs, but this is more like debt than income. Catizen earns income by creating real value, which is different from other projects.
We create value for players by providing fun and engaging gaming experiences; we introduce millions of users to wallets and exchanges through partnerships with platforms such as OKX, Bybit, Binance, Bitget, etc.; and we further promote the development of these two ecosystems by helping to build Mantle and TON chains and introducing millions of users to them.
By creating real value, we have a more sustainable business model than our predecessors.
Web3 Ecosystem and Strategic Cooperation: Deeply Binding Mantle and TON Ecosystem
MarsBit Finance: The cooperation between Mantle and Catizen has attracted much attention. Can you share why developers should choose Mantle? As a Layer 2 solution, how does Mantle empower the development of games?
Geezee: My consulting work includes all-round support from token economic model design, fundraising, market strategy to user growth, listing and team structure. After joining Mantle, I have more resources to better support game development teams.
Mantle's game strategy is different from most other ecosystems. We are extremely picky about the games we support. Once we select a team, we will provide full support to ensure their success. Our team's goal is to work with seven teams to make each team's game a representative work. Currently, Catizen and Metacene have been launched, and according to the current progress, I am confident that this goal can be achieved.
MarsBit Finance: As the person in charge of games in the Mantle ecosystem, what do you think of the game ecosystem on TON? Do you think clicker games are the ultimate direction of TON? Do MOBA, FPS, RTS and other types of games have prospects in Web3? What are the game directions worth paying attention to in the future?
Geezee: TON chain has huge potential, which is why we facilitated the cooperation between Catizen and TON. Click and hyper-casual games are just the beginning, and their simple onboarding process is very suitable for attracting Telegram's 900 million users to mini-games. Just like WeChat mini-games have gradually developed since 2017, as the market matures, the gameplay will become more and more in-depth. As for the game direction I am particularly optimistic about, you can pay attention to the Catizen Game Center, which showcases the games we choose to support.
