Steam's fourth most popular game isn't really a game at all, but it's doubling as a "marketing tool" so effective its devs don't mind that "it's actually losing us money"

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Bongo Cat helped the developer's next game reach 50,000 wishlists

Bongo Cat bangs on a counter that displays 47,177. The background is a light, peachy orange color.
(Image credit: Irox Games)

Steam's fourth most popular game at the moment isn't really a game at all - it's Bongo Cat, an adorably chubby feline who sits at the bottom of your desktop and counts every time you press a key. The higher the points, the more hats you can unlock for dear ol' Bongo Cat. But despite being 'played' by well over 100,000 people every single day, it's actually losing money, apparently.

Bongo Cat currently has 160,000 cat sitters, more than absolute heavy hitters like GTA 5 and Apex Legends, but Irox Games CEO Marcel Zurawka told Eurogamer that the app is "not even paying a developer for us... If you just look at the numbers, it's actually losing us money in the end."

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"It's an insane marketing tool," Zurawka continued. "We are now converting people to the next game from us."

The stunt drove 50,000 wishlists and follows for Oku, which puts the upcoming indie game at around 750 on Steam's Most Wishlisted chart. Great for Irox Games, but it probably paints a bleak picture for the dozens of hopefuls looking to breakout on the storefront every singe day.

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Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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