Mewgenics recouped its development budget in just 3 hours after launch. Check out the game’s successful release and its long and storied development history.
Mewgenics Releases With Massive Success
Made Back Development Budget in Just 3 Hours
Mewgenics, the tactical roguelike from the creators of The Binding of Isaac and The End is Nigh, has achieved an explosive launch. Developer Tyler Glaiel announced on X (formerly Twitter) on February 11 that the game recouped its entire development budget just three hours after release.
Since its February 10 debut, Mewgenics has earned widespread acclaim, securing an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating from the Steam community. The game currently holds an 89 on Metacritic, maintaining a "Generally Favorable" status based on 38 critic reviews.
Here at Game8, we gave Mewgenics an 84 out of 100 for being a near-perfect tactical roguelike that follows the same vision as the popular The Binding of Isaac. To know more of our thoughts on the game, check out our review below.
Over 250,000 Copies Sold
In his latest update, Glaiel referenced a 2023 post in which a fan asked what sales figure would constitute a "success" for the project. At the time, he estimated that they would need to sell around 250,000 copies—a milestone that the game has now shattered.
According to Glaiel, it took less than 12 hours to reach this sales achievement. Fans flocked to the comment section with their heartfelt congratulations, sharing their experiences so far with the feline strategy title.
Nearly 14 Years of Development
The development of Mewgenics has been full of ups and downs, spanning nearly fourteen years from its initial announcement to its record-breaking release. First revealed in 2012 by Super Meat Boy creators Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, the project was originally envisioned as a "cat lady sim" focused on breeding and home decoration.
However, the game was put on indefinite hiatus in 2014 as the developers shifted focus, with McMillen transitioning away from Team Meat to work on The Binding of Isaac and The End is Nigh. It was then in 2018 that McMillen officially reacquired the rights to the IP and announced a total reboot in collaboration with programmer Tyler Glaiel.
This new iteration moved away from the original life-simulation concepts, pivoting instead toward a deep, grid-based tactical roguelike. Over the following years, the duo documented their progress through weekly development blogs, revealing a massive scope that included billions of genetic combinations and hundreds of hours of gameplay.
The game’s "development hell" finally concluded with its full release on February 10, 2026, marking a triumphant end to over a decade of transitions and production hurdles. As of writing, Mewgenics has reached an all-time concurrent player peak of 65,962 and is ranked as one of the top-selling games on Steam on its launch day.
Mewgenics is now available on PC via Steam. To stay up-to-date with the latest information about the game, check out our page below.
Source:
Tyler Glaiel Twitter (X) post on Mewgenics Sale Success
Tyler Glaiel Twitter (X) post on Mewgenics Sale Copies
Mewgenics Metacritic
Mewgenics Steam page
Mewgenics SteamDB Charts
Steam Charts Overview
