The crowdfunding site Kickstarter has long been a place where all types of games found new life - from reviving old games to developing entirely new ideas, Kickstarter has been at the cornerstone for a new type of development. This year has been no different, with the platform boasting an increase in total successful Kickstarter campaigns over 2019.
Some may have thought that the global pandemic might have made people warier of backing Kickstarter projects, having to keep spending tighter and budgets closed, but the opposite seems to have borne out. Video game campaigns had been stagnating for the past 4 years, but this year had a glut of Japanese game developers, which sent backers rushing out to help fund their campaigns.
The tabletop scene continues to dominate, however, with over $233 million dollars raised for tabletop games and accessories, up from $176 million last year - an increase of over 32%. Some of the biggest campaigns were Isaac Childres’ Frosthaven, the sequel to the world-spanning campaign Gloomhaven, and Wyrmwood Gaming’s campaign for its modular gaming table.
Over $12 million was raised for Frosthaven, which is the hotly anticipated sequel to Gloomhaven. Seen as one of the best tabletop games of recent memory, Gloomhaven sets the players up in a legacy-style campaign, with characters growing and learning new abilities and items, all while increasing the prosperity of their beloved city, Gloomhaven. Frosthaven sees characters travel up to a frozen wasteland in the north, and boasts an all-new cast of characters, with new evolving mechanics that will keep the players on their toes throughout the many dozen hours playing through the campaign.
Video games had less of an impact overall, but still saw an increase over 2019, earning almost $23 million up from $16 million - an increase of 43%. Japanese developers Rabbit & Bear Studios, as well as Platinum Games, topped the charts, both earning $4.6 and $2.3 million for their projects respectively. Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, developed by Rabbit & Bear Studios, is a spiritual successor to the Suikoden franchise, a beloved JRPG in the halcyon days of the Playstation and Playstation 2. Reuniting the original director and designer, Eiyuden Chronicles seeks to replicate the success of other titles such as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which was a spiritual successor to Castlevania games designed by Koji Igarashi.
While it will take a good deal of time for most of these projects to be released, it is nevertheless a great sign that crowdfunding remains a healthy way to fund new and exciting projects that would otherwise not be developed.
Source: Infogram