| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 (age 11) |
| Hq location city | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Hq location country | United States |
| Products | Bite the Bullet |
| Num employees | 24 |
| Website | megacatstudios.com |
Mega Cat Studios is an American video game development and publishing company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2015 by James Deighan, Nick Mann, and Zack Manko.
Mega Cat develops and publishes games for computers, consoles, virtual reality, and physical copy games for video game consoles, such as the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo Entertainment System. The company also publishes physical releases for other retro developers, such as Old Towers by Retrosouls.[1] As of 2024, they are also the primary developers of the Backyard Sports franchise after it was rebooted the same year by its current rightsholder Playground Productions, beginning with a series of remasters of several games originally developed by series creator Humongous Entertainment followed by original titles.
History
Mega Cat was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by James Deighan, Nick Mann and Zack Manko in 2015; they, alongside Nathaniel Wilson, Andrew Marsh, and Lauri Coderbrah produced the studio's first game, Almost Hero, for the Nintendo Entertainment System, which generally received a positive reception.[2] A major element of their business model of publishing new video games for "retro systems" has involved including a physical manual and case for each of their releases.[3] Founder James Deighan says that the studio has sought to "recreate that experience of being in the back of your mom’s van coming back from Hills [a department store], opening up the game and reading the instruction manual on the way home."[4]
In February 2017, Mega Cat published Coffee Crisis for the Sega Genesis.[5] The game was their first to later receive a Windows port with enhanced features, such as additional modes, a procedurally generated roguelite modifier system, and improved graphics, and was later released on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.[6] The Windows version of Coffee Crisis was published in conjunction with Zerouno Games.
To avoid having to bring in investors or otherwise raise funding early on in the studio's history, Mega Cat focused on a balancing contracted work for various brands while continuing work on their own IP.[7] The studio has done contract work for such clients as the Pittsburgh Pirates,[8] Devolver Digital,[9] and Columbia Records.[10]
The studio has run crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter for Coffee Crisis, Log Jammers[11] and Phantom Gear.[12] Prior to its crowdfunding campaign, Log Jammers had been an official selection of the 2018 Indie Megabooth and won both the "Best Digital Game Play" and the "Digital Game of the Year" award at Gameacon 2017.[13]
A number of the studio's games were featured as part of the Indie Megabooth, including the aforementioned Log Jammers as well as Little Medusa, Coffee Crisis, and Fork Parker's Crunch Out.[14]
In 2020, ten of the studio's published games were included in a cartridge for the Evercade gaming system.[15]
In 2024, it was announced that Mega Cat Studios is collaborating with Playground Productions in rebooting the Backyard Sports franchise, which was originally created by Humongous Entertainment.[16] Mega Cat remastered several early Backyard Sports titles, and are developing a new Backyard Baseball game for a 2026 release,[17] which is stated to include updated features for a new generation of gamers while keeping the feel of the original games.[18]
In 2026, the studio was announced as the main developer of a side-scroller spin-off and a prequel in the God of War franchise, titled Sons of Sparta. The game was released on the PlayStation 5 the very day it was announced during the February PlayStation State of Play[19].
Games
References
- ^ "Old Towers". Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Almost Hero (2016) The Well-Red Mage". November 30, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ "Mega Cat Brings Us on a Modern Nostalgia Trip! - Nerdy But Flirty". January 26, 2018.
- ^ Addison, Rebecca (February 28, 2018). "Mega Cat Studios brings retro gaming into the 21st century - Gaming Issue - Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh City Paper". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Cramer, Haley (2020-04-17). "A New Sega Genesis Game Is Now On PS4 (And It's About Coffee)". TheGamer. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
- ^ May, Andrew (August 15, 2018). "Retro couch brawler Coffee Crisis hits Xbox One - The Indie Game Website". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Brinks, Melissa (August 29, 2018). "Mega Cat Studios Brings New Games To Classic Consoles With Style And Precision". Forbes. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "The Pittsburgh Pirate - Mega Cat Games". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Fingas, Jon (May 10, 2018). "'Fork Parker's Crunch Out' is an SNES game made for charity - Engadget". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Columbia Records: Old Town Road". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Compendio, Chris (August 29, 2018). "Log Jammers, a Modern-Day NES Homage to Windjammers, to Have Kickstarter Campaign for Console Ports". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Anthony, Sean (July 12, 2019). "New Sega Genesis platformer Phantom Gear hits Kickstarter on July 16th – GAMING TREND". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ Gordon, Galit (29 August 2018). "Log Jammers Heading to PAX West 2018, Kickstarter Begins Sept. 12". gamingcypher.com. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
- ^ "Retro Gaming and Fork Parker with Mega Cat at PAX West - Indie MEGABOOTH". August 22, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ "Mega Cat Studios - Collection 1 Cartridge - Evercade". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Backyard Baseball ’97 announced for PC". Gematsu. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Backyard Sports (May 30, 2025). "Interview with CEO Lindsay Barnett!". YouTube. pp. 19:56–20:03. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
There's a Backyard Sports title that is deep in production and will be coming out next year.
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (2024-11-19). "Next-Gen ‘Backyard Sports’ Game in the Works". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
- ^ "God of War Greek trilogy remake in development & God of War Sons of Sparta out now". PlayStation.Blog. 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ^ Wilson, Mike (2023-04-12). "‘Vampire Survivors’-inspired ‘Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood’ Available Today in Early Access on Steam [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
- ^ "Five Nights At Freddy's: Into The Pit Press Kit". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
- ^ Silberling, Amanda (2024-09-25). "Backyard Baseball '97 is back, with a re-release coming soon on Steam". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ Moore, Logan (2024-10-10). "Backyard Football, Basketball, and Soccer Remasters "Coming Soon" to PC". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ "'Backyard Sports' Franchise Currently Developing First Next-Generation Video Game". SI. 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ Hanes, Robert (2026-01-29). "New Backyard Baseball Game Revealed for Summer 2026". The Game Haus. Retrieved 2026-01-29.