The Battle Cats developer PONOS Corporation has reached a deal with hacking group The OutCats following extensive ransom negotiations.
The pact, unveiled in a statement on November 24th, will be seen as a partial victory for the criminal gang, who stole 100 million cans of Cat Food from a PONOS warehouse and posted a ransom video on the PONOS Corporation’s hacked social media channels last week.
Speaking anonymously, The OutCats claimed in the video to be members of a syndicate of sub par Cats rejected by The Battle Cats in 2014, when the game launched on mobile.
They revealed plans to give away the Cat Food they had stolen, awarding 999 to every player who logged in to the game. This was no idle threat, with countless players opening The Battle Cats to find themselves nearly a thousand cans of Cat Food richer.
As for the ransom, The OutCats had just one demand: they wanted to join The Battle Cats.
Following talks, PONOS Corporation has handed The OutCats – now identified as Trash Cat, Sick Cat, and Stealth Cat – a partial victory. One of these Cats will join The Battle Cats in spring 2024.
The game’s players will choose which one gets the call through a public vote, to be held between now and December 3rd.
Trash Cat, Sick Cat, and Stealth Cat have had old audition tapes videos released by PONOS to help woo voters. You can watch them on the PONOS YouTube channel (and below!), control over which has returned to PONOS following the recent dialogue.
To further encourage participation in the democratic process, The OutCats have agreed to give away their remaining Cat Food lottery-style, randomly awarding 9,999 cans each to nine lucky voters.
You can vote for your favourite candidate by logging in to The Battle Cats and buying a Rare Cat Ticket. Make sure you have downloaded The Battle Cats on Android or iOS first of course.
PONOS Corporation’s full statement can be found here.
