Gaming company, PONOS, was hacked by criminal organisation, The OutCats, on Black Friday. PONOS issued the statement detailing that one of its warehouses had been targeted by thieves who have made off with 100 million cans of Cat Food – the game’s main currency, alongside a “hostile” takeover of its platforms – generating mild panic and buzz in the gaming fraternity.

In a video posted on the “hijacked” accounts, the OutCats revealed that they are made up of individuals rejected by The Battle Cats nine years ago. Their latest antics are a revenge tactic to distribute contraband to the players – with everyone who logs on to the game automatically receiving 999 cans of Cat Food.

The OutCats Black Friday work is the first in a series of campaigns by R/GA aimed to take the brand narrative in new places that The Battle Cats fans will never expect.

The campaign was developed to increase the reach and reputation of PONOS’s famous mobile game brand, The Battle Cats, mainly in the North American market, to bring new game fans into the world of The Battle Cats and revive old fans who used to play the game.

The R/GA campaign team kicked off a co-creative innovation journey with PONOS’ game creators to take the game to the next level – by developing a series of unexpected creative campaigns that will excite, intrigue, and expand The Battle Cats’ fan base. The new campaign was co-created by PONOS’ game creators and R/GA teams across its global network including Japan, the United States and Argentina. Longer term, R/GA and its partner PONOS are working on additional campaigns and strategies to drive new user acquisition, customer loyalty, as well as growing the brand’s paid user base. Taking inspiration from PONOS’s tagline, Go Far Beyond, the R/GA creative team plans to delight and surprise audiences by showing up in unexpected ways.

“We were delighted to be chosen as PONOS’s global innovation partner to drive its US market expansion, and help take the brand and its iconic game to new creative heights,” stated Anthony Baker, general manager, R/GA Japan. “This partnership gives us an exciting opportunity to work on a brief with a real difference. They are a brave, innovative company – and we love how they always try to do what’s best for their fans. Now that our first campaign is out there, we look forward to what else the OutCats have in store – and how The Battle Cats will respond.”

Since the original version of the game for the Japanese market was released in 2012 and the English version, The Battle Cats, for US fans and fans around the world was released in 2014, The Battle Cats has grown to become an acclaimed tower defense strategy game with more than 85 million downloads. Its players take on the role of a commander, leading cats in battles against multiple different enemy types, including commonplace animals and bizarre creatures that bear little relation to living fauna, domesticated or otherwise. As players progress, they gain access to new Battle Cats with a range of abilities. In order to collect these feline warriors, however, players must spend Cat Food to open Capsules. The campaign “hack” will therefore allow players to increase their Cat Food reserves and strengthen their Battle Cat armies free of charge.