Nyan Heroes—the hotly anticipated team-based shooter where cute cats pilot giant mechs— is making some exciting announcements ahead of their next public playtest.

Set to launch next month on Epic Games, the playtest will showcase the holy trifecta of a new hero, a new game mode, and a new map, along with reams of new lore to dive into ahead of the game’s global launch. 

More on those new details later. First, let’s make sure we’re all up to speed on why Nyan Heroes is one of the hottest upcoming releases of 2025. 

Developed by a team with experience working on Call of Duty, Halo, Destiny, World of Tanks, and a ton of other top tier multiplayer shooters, Nyan Heroes is a visually stunning online shooter that combines the cold hard power of mech technology with the liquid agility of cats. 

As Max Fu, CEO at developer 9 Lives Interactive says about the game: “We’ve gained a lot of momentum with gamers who are looking for something fresh and thrilling to play. Nyan Heroes is an original team-based hero shooter where cute cats pilot giant mechs. We’re in pre-alpha, yet we’ve racked up nearly a million play hours thanks to our adorable and feisty felines and emphasis on verticality, agility, and customization.”

Specifically the game sees you engaging in high intensity 15-20 minute 6v6 battles, while playing as a cat that’s in control of a powerful mech. Each cat has its own unique personality, just like a real cat, and Guardian mechs all have their own unique abilities and signature Ultimates, including tactical shields, aerial attacks, and more.

Fu was inspired by their own cat when developing the title too, saying his pet is “agile, adorable, and you never know what he’s going to do next. His movement and personality inspired me to dream up a loveable, original world where the intelligence, athleticism, and cuteness of cats are fully realized!”

Plus, you can customize your loadout in the game, collecting and crafting gear to personalize your mech while exploring all of the different ways it’s possible to devastate an opponent. 

These loadouts and mechs aren’t just for fun. Nyan Heroes features optional blockchain elements. So while players can join right in like any other free-to-play shooter, those interested can dive into another layer of rich Web3 mechanics. We’re told the Web3 elements offer no competitive advantage. 

Now to take a look at the new stuff. 

The latest hero is called Coco, a cheerful junkyard cat who spent his early years scavenging through mountains of discarded metal and rusty junk. This hardscrabble upbringing gave Coco a gift for engineering.

This skill was his ticket out of the scrapyard, and after escaping with a group of friends he started to make a name for himself as a mechanic in the underground caverns of New Nekovia. 

But he wanted more from life, so he built Gizmo, his very own scrappy, scrap-sourced mech cobbled together from spare parts and duct tape. 

After signing up for military duty, Coco and Gizmo began to do their bit by deploying turrets, creating magnetic platforms, scavenging scrap, and creating fortifications. Coco’s Ultimate sees him creating a giant version of Gizmo that hurls exploding metal pieces at enemies. 

Check him out. 

The new mode, meanwhile, is called Fishball. Yep, Fishball. Inspired by Call of Duty’s Uplink, it sees teams battling to score points by either throwing or running a ball into their opponent’s goal. Matches take place over two rounds, and the team with the most points wins. It’ll be interesting to see how feline agility and powerful ultimate abilities impact this match style.

Finally, there’s that new map. It’s called Tokyo, and it’s set in Tokyo—but a near-future Tokyo where a Feral Guardian HQ has been set up by sentient cats to defeat the feral robot uprising through a neverending succession of arena battles. 

Features of this new map include vertical movement, urban guerrilla tactics, and tight spaces where good coordination is imperative. And, of course, Fishball. 

All of which you’ll be able to sample in next month’s open playtest. It’s also worth noting that the development team is an experienced bunch too. 

As Fu himself says, “Our team includes veterans from Halo, Destiny, Ghost Recon, and more, so we’re huge shooter fans, and we’re inspired by all types of casual and competitive arena shooters. Fishball is not something you typically see available in a hero shooter. We thought there was a lot of opportunity to bring the strategy, fun, and chaos of fighting over obtaining and securing a ball across two rounds to the world of hero-shooters and unique abilities. It’s been a blast internally, and we can’t wait for people to try it.”

We’re not sure exactly when the playtest will begin, but you can stay in the loop by following Nyan Heroes on X, YouTube, TikTok, or the official Nyan Heroes website.