Case Study: Nushi the Electric Blue Cybercat’s Meteoric Rise to TikTok Stardom
The Challenge: blending Virtual & Physical Worlds
Xsolla, the global payments company powering transactions for major gaming titles like Fortnite and Roblox, had long been a dominant player in the B2B space. With the emergence of Web3 and the metaverse, Xsolla sought to engage a consumer audience for the first time. Aligning with the aesthetics of the gaming industry, a tag team of dual mascots were created to represent their B2C brand: an eccentric granny named Babka and her cybernetic feline familiar Nushi.
Our mission: Transform Nushi from a digital entity into an embodied phenomenon, both in the real world and across social media. The stakes were high: this debut needed to generate buzz, drive engagement, and establish Nushi as a legitimate virtual influencer.
The Creative Solution: A Cybercat Unlike Any Other
Our vision was ambitious. We would fuse cutting-edge robotics, AI, live streaming, public interventions, influencers, and paid social media spend to create a 360° campaign. Our approach unfolded in three key phases:
Physical Incarnation: Partnering with Hollywood creature artist Salvatore J. Salamone (credits include The Dark Crystal and The Grinch), we transformed a factory issued quadruped robot into a fully customised cat, complete with a blinking liquid crystal eye, bouncing tail, and bespoke blue fur. The other eye featured a livestreaming camera broadcasting on Twitch that passed through a custom-coded, realtime processed AI style transfer filter.
Public Debut at GDC 2023: Nushi made a splash at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, appearing alongside a full-body Babka mascot. The experience was designed as a spectacle, featuring live music, appearances by influencers, and interactive audience engagement generating tonnes of organic content.
Digital Activation & Social Takeover: A multichannel social media campaign rolled out across TikTok and Twitter, complimenting organic engagement with paid media spend. Leveraging AI-assisted content production and meme-friendly public appearances on city streets, we ensured that Nushi was impossible to ignore.
The Results: A Viral Sensation
Nushi’s impact was immediate and undeniable:
55M+ video views in just 10 days
465K+ followers on TikTok
8K+ comments across social platforms
30M+ plays on the viral Do the Noosh video series
Coverage by top gaming influencers, including Esfand TV on Twitch
A flood of user-generated content, memes, and viral tweets
The campaign demonstrated the extraordinary power of fusing physical and digital experiences in modern marketing. The sheer velocity of engagement proved that bold, unconventional storytelling could drive tangible, large-scale impact.
Key Takeaways
Technology & Storytelling Drive Engagement: By merging robotics, AI, and live-streaming with character-driven storytelling, we created a campaign that captivated audiences worldwide.
Controversy Fuels Conversation: Love it or hate it, Nushi was impossible to ignore. Embracing polarising audience reactions amplified organic reach.
The Future of Virtual Influencers is Here: Nushi demonstrated that virtual influencers can transcend the screen and become real-world icons. Now with the advent of LLMs, this influence can be even more impactful than ever before.
Gamescom 2025 is coming.
How will your booth stand out?
Book a free consultation with Jeremiah Krage, Associate Creative Producer, Video Games, to explore what’s possible when characters come to life at the convergence of AI and robotics.