Kickstarted MMORPGs are dead. There, I said it. And honestly, it's about time that people accept the harsh reality that crowdfunding just isn't a viable option for indie studios anymore. Sure, we can argue that there have been some successes in crowdfunding in the past, but when compared to the vast number of pipe-dream MMORPGs that step up to the proverbial plate and completely strike out, they are few and far between, and the failures have been numerous and spectacular.
It feels as though time moves forward for MMORPGs at an ever accelerating pace. The new, flashy fads are shorter, and less impactful, and that also seems to go for the way games are being funded. Traditional development funding will always be the most prominent for MMORPGs, because persistent online games that are actually worth playing take millions of dollars to make. Over the years, smaller development studios have tried to utilize crowdfunding through Kickstarter campaigns as they attempt to make their MMO dreams come true. However, it’s taken just over a decade of Kickstarter - much less in the way of consistent crowdfunded MMO failures - for gamers to learn that backing a Kickstarter MMO is about as good a use of their money as a slot machine.
Let's take a look at some of the most highly funded Kickstarter MMORPGs in recent years. Crowfall, for example, raised over $1.7 million from backers, and their Kickstarter campaign started in March of 2015. It eventually went through a lengthy early access phase, and it's safe to say that when it finally launched in July of 2021, it did not live up to expectations. It was riddled with bugs, the gameplay was lackluster, and it just wasn’t that appealing even to their core audience. Crowfall was eventually sold to Monumental who aimed to fix the game. Unfortunately, we already know how that turned out. Monumental took the game offline completely and retreated into closed development for the foreseeable future.
But Crowfall is just one example. Other highly funded Kickstarter MMORPGs, such as Shroud of the Avatar, Pathfinder Online, City of Titans have also failed to live up to expectations. And that’s not even counting games that appear to just be completely mismanaged, questionable, or outright scam-like. It’s hard for any developer to make it in the crowdfunded world when you have Chronicles of Elyria, Greed Monger, and Dreamworld out there. It seems like in order for projects to even be considered successful for Kickstarter, they have to have unbelievably low funding goals, which only makes it that much more unbelievable that a viable project is in the works. Dreamworld, for example. The developers set a funding goal of just $10,000, and yet they were only able to raise $64,000. While that may be a “win” for the “developers” in this instance, by no means could anyone expect that they would deliver on the promises of their Kickstarter.
Sure, we do have some Kickstarted MMORPGs that have launched and have done fairly well. Zenith: The Last City is probably the only VR MMO worth playing at the moment. Temtem is a popular cross-platform creature battler. And we do have a few highly anticipated games on the horizon that seem to be doing very well, like Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen and Ashes of Creation. But lets remember, these games were also funded 9 years for Pantheon and 6 years ago for Ashes of Creation respectively. MMORPGs take a lot of time and dedication, but that has only caused players to sour even more on Kickstarter campaigns in recent years.
For example, just the past couple months alone, we’ve had over 12 failed MMORPG and persistent MORPG Kickstarters come and go. Some of them could hardly be considered a contender as a real project, like EverChange which, might be more of a joke than an honest attempt at creating an MMORPG. Others, actually put forth some effort, and in the right light could be the next Chronicles of Elyria with eye-catching proposals like Eplitz. Yet very few of them have gained any traction, and most don’t even get remotely close to funding, even when some of them ask for a measly $2,128 dollars.
There are just too many issues when it comes to crowdfunded MMOs. There’s an issue of trust. After so many high-profile failures and scams, backers are understandably wary of funding new MMORPG projects. They've been burned too many times before, and they don't want to take that risk again. There’s the issue of time. Players don’t want to back something in 2015, and still not be able to actually get in and play the game in 2023. Finally, why would gamers waste their time attempting to back a game that hasn’t materialized or is barely playable, when there are thousands of Early Access titles out there on Steam and other platforms, that give you direct access to the game during development?
It's just not worth the risk for gamers to throw money at crowdfunded projects anymore. Kickstarter MMORPGs had their moment in the sun, but that moment has passed. It’s time for Indie developers to start looking elsewhere to fund their games, as the Kickstarter goldrush is no more. Flashy videos and original concept art just won’t cut it when you’re begging for money to fund a possible game that might release someday in the future eventually.
Have you ever funded a Kickstarter game? If so, would you ever fund one again? Join us in the comments and give us the details.
