Bongo Cat is currently the fourth most played “game” on Steam, boasting around 150,000 concurrent users daily since April. That’s more than heavy-hitters like Elden Ring: Night Reign or Dune Awakening. But unlike those immersive titles, Bongo Cat isn’t really a game in the traditional sense—it’s more of an idle desktop companion that quietly counts your keypresses with adorable anime-cat flair.
Holy, my Bongo Cat game reached 10k Wishlists in just 18 days 🥳
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It doesn’t make any noise. It doesn’t even interact with your active programs beyond visual overlay. Bongo Cat simply exists: cheerfully tapping a bongo each time you press a key or click your mouse. Its animations are subtle enough to ignore but charming enough to catch your eye when you least expect it. The result is something oddly addictive—watching your “score” grow as you work, browse, or game.
From Meme to Steam: Bongo Cat’s Origins and Launch
The original Bongo Cat meme was born in 2018 thanks to Twitter users Stray Rogue and Fitzy Flurmer. It quickly became a viral sensation, reappearing in everything from music parodies to anime-style remixes. Fast-forward to 2025, and Bongo Cat now lives on as a Steam app—created by indie studio iRocks.
Inspired by Rusty’s Retirement, another idle desktop overlay, the Bongo Cat “game” was whipped up in just three weeks and debuted as a demo in February’s Steam Idler Fest. The full release followed in March, and interest exploded when media coverage picked up in April. While it ranks among the most played titles on Steam, its numbers are misleading—it runs silently in the background, often forgotten, yet always active.
The Player Count Isn’t What It Seems
Not all of Bongo Cat’s “players” are real. While the Steam charts show 150,000 daily users, developers at iRocks estimate that half could be bots. Some scripts are set up to simulate activity, potentially farming community marketplace rewards. Others are simply idle launches meant to inflate numbers or earn cosmetic unlocks tied to game promotion.
By analyzing Discord activity and unusual usage patterns, it’s estimated the real number is closer to 70,000 players—still impressive but enough to drop Bongo Cat from fourth to somewhere around 20th on the active player charts. And if Valve ever adjusts how it counts idle or background apps, Bongo Cat might vanish from those charts entirely.
Oku and the Marketing Genius Behind This App
So why was Bongo Cat made in the first place? The answer is simple: to market another game. iRocks is currently developing Oku, a watercolor adventure about a monk on a spiritual journey. Bongo Cat is their Trojan Cat—its viral presence driving thousands of wishlists for Oku on Steam.
Players can earn new hats for Bongo Cat by engaging with Oku’s ecosystem. Wishlist the game? Get a hat. Watch the trailer? Another hat. Join the Discord? One more. This strategy has reportedly added over 50,000 wishlists for Oku—a massive achievement for a small indie developer, even if it still places the game far outside Steam’s top charts.
The Future of Bongo Cat (And Its Many Clones)
The Bongo Cat phenomenon isn’t over. A major update is rumored to arrive sometime this month or next, which could fundamentally change how the app functions and potentially bring in a new wave of users. While the exact features are under wraps, the developers are teasing something significant.
However, success brings imitation. Clones like Bingo Pet have already surfaced but received lukewarm reception in comparison. And with Steam’s evolving stance on idle apps, Bongo Cat’s future in the top charts may be short-lived.
For now though, this paw-bopping cat continues to rule quietly in the corner of our screens—part productivity tracker, part marketing vehicle, and entirely unexpected.
