The Catly Drama Continues as the Developer Denies NFT Accusations

Over the past few days, a number of gaming websites, including yours truly, have published reports accusing SuperAuthenti – the developer of the controversial open-world cat game Catly – of using generative AI to create the game's trailer, having ties to the NFT/Web3 community, and generally being shady and suspicious.

After the 80 Level team followed a lead from Reddit user Nat-Chem, we were able to confirm that SuperAuthenti is the sole shareholder (i.e. owner) of Shanghai Binmao Technology, the developer behind a blockchain app Plantly: Mindful Gardening, making the connection between the two undeniable and providing even more reason to steer clear of this "game," as, while Catly itself may not be a Web3 project, its creators – especially SuperAuthenti's Co-Founder Kevin Yeung – are deeply tied to blockchain gaming.

To no one's surprise, it didn't take long for SuperAuthenti to respond with a statement of its own, denying all AI and NFT allegations and claiming they were surprised they got accused in the first place. Speaking to IGN – an outlet criticized for promoting Catly on its Twitter page – a company representative stated that generative AI was not used to create the trailer or the game itself. Supposedly, a behind-the-scenes demo proving the trailer wasn't made with AI was shown to IGN, however, since the article doesn't feature this demo, the trailer's origins remain unclear.

The representative further claimed that there has been "zero blockchain technology" involved in Catly or its developer SuperAuthenti – a statement that, there's no sugarcoating it, appears to be a blatant lie, given the company's proven connection to the creator of Plantly: Mindful Gardening, a "botanical experience" that did include "digital tokens" before it got scrapped from the internet. "Our company/project has never issued any blockchain currency and any NFTs," the representative told IGN. "Our company does not and has never owned any blockchain currency and NFTs."

As SuperAuthenti's PR team is on full damage control, the pile of evidence against the project continues to grow. Firstly, the community has uncovered several new images from Catly's website – now deleted – where the use of AI is almost impossible to deny. As always, feel free to examine the images yourself and draw your own conclusions (pay particular attention to cats' paws):

Secondly, a LinkedIn page for one Abir Hs was discovered online, which is notable because he is the only person affiliated with SuperAuthenti who hasn't yet deleted all of their socials. Having served as the company's Community Manager from June 2022 to May 2024, Abir appears to be very pro-AI, even receiving a Huawei AI Innovation Training Camp Certificate in 2023. Circumstantial evidence at best, but still worth mentioning considering the lack of SuperAuthenti's online presence.

Lastly, and most intriguingly, a connection emerged between SuperAuthenti and The Game Awards, which could explain how a game like Catly managed to worm its way into the most prestigious gaming awards ceremony.

Internet detectives discovered that Griffin Gaming Partners, a game venture capital firm that had previously invested in Web3 and crypto gaming, lists SuperAuthenti among its portfolio of investments. Serving as an Advisor to Griffin Fund is none other than Kathryn Felicia Day, an actress and writer whose voice many Fallout: New Vegas fans would likely recognize instantly, as she voiced everyone's beloved companion, Veronica.

Here's where it gets interesting: in 2017, Day was one of the presenters at The Game Awards, which would make her at least familiar with the show's organizers. This year, she promoted Catly on her social media pages shortly after the trailer aired, creating a connection between TGA and SuperAuthenti with Day and GGP acting as a conduit. Her Twitter post also included a curious hashtag, #CatlyPartner, the same one used by Ninja in his infamous post promoting the game, opening the door to a slew of new conspiracy theories.

Having said that, I'd like to emphasize that this theory should be taken with a sizable pinch of salt, as claiming that the actress helped Catly appear at TGA simply because she was there seven years ago seems incredibly contrived. Which is more likely, the theory above, or the ceremony's organizers simply accepting SuperAuthenti's payment without vetting the firm beforehand? Occam's razor.

So, what do you think about SuperAuthenti's rebuttal? Do you believe them and IGN or your own eyes? Tell us in the comments!

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