This week in MMO crowdfunding, Legends of Aria — which we’ll probably never stop accidentally calling Shards Online — began its alpha, introducing testers and founder pack players to the revitalized game. While gamers will still be able to roll their own “shards” and play their own way, Citadel Studios has expanded its scope and plans a much bigger map, improved combat, and official servers to bring the game in line with MMORPG gamer expectations.
Meanwhile, Grim Dawn sold a million copies on PC, Valiance Online caught us up on its weekly build, Crowfall pushed its 5.0.2 alpha to testers, AdventureQuest 3D began its Battleon attack event, Ashes of Creation revealed its lofty ambitions to be the biggest Kickstarted MMORPG ever, and Shroud of the Avatar rolled out release 42!
Read on for more on what’s up with MMO crowdfunding over the last week and the regular roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’ve got our eye on.
Legends of Aria alpha launch
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Wild West Online addresses Sergey Titov rumors [Updated] - Rumors spread on Reddit yesterday suggesting that Sergey Titov is involved in Wild West Online have been partially but not fully debunked. Titov, you'll recall, was the controversial personality behind scandal-riddled The…
Ashes of Creation revises referral program, unlocks Underrealm race, and shows freehold housing - With less than a week to go in its fundraising campaign, Ashes of Creation has raised over $2.5 million and become the most successful Kickstarted MMORPG of all time. This…
Camelot Unchained implements torches (bring your own pitchforks) - City State's Mark Jacobs is back at the helm of the Camelot Unchained weekly update this round, with news of his team's efforts on terrain, performance improvements, seamless zone transitions,…
Worlds Adrift’s closed beta turnout exceeded studio expectations - Worlds Adrift's closed beta kicked off earlier this week, and this would be one of those times to admit it's gone a little too well. Bossa Studios was expecting a good response, hence…
Star Citizen checks in with Frankfurt studio, talks about designing the Eclipse - In this week's rip-roaring episode of Around the Verse, the Star Citizen team checks in with the game's Frankfurt studio. This studio has recently grown to 74 employees, which raises…
City of Titans drops some Scorpion lore - Only part of becoming a successful superhero is mastering your abilities and pulling off a spandex outfit in public. Another key part is knowing your enemy inside and out, and…
Shroud of the Avatar unveils its patch notes for release 42 - The end is coming to Shroud of the Avatar. The next patch for the game, release 42, allows players who have succeeded at the quests for the paths of Love,…
Ashes of Creation will let you step into the shoes of a flesh-rending monster - If all of Ashes of Creation's ambitious claims come to life in the finished product, then it does't seem like players will wont for things to do. And if adventuring,…
Elite Dangerous posts plans for PS4 launch and beyond - Crowding in on a packed MMO month this June, Elite Dangerous will launch on the PlayStation 4, bringing this space sim to consoles for the first time. But what does…
Legends of Aria’s alpha has begun, infusing the Shards Online sandbox with MMORPG - Back at PAX East, MMO players were startled but pleased at the revelation that Shards Online was getting a massive revamp as well as a new name: Legends of Aria.…
Planet Nomads launches early access today - Planet Nomads is officially launching into early access this morning on Steam. The sci-fi survival sandbox was originally slated for an April launch but missed that window, instead allowing the…
Valiance Online asks its fans what’s the most important part of a superheroic MMO - What makes for a great superheroic MMO? What are the most important aspects of the game to consider? The developers behind Valiance Online obviously have several answers of their own,…
Worlds Adrift’s closed beta has begun, founder packs are now on sale - Worlds Adrift's closed beta has just begun, Bossa Studios just announced. "If you’ve played the game before, you’ll see that the world has been completely redesigned and improved with the very best new…
Albion’s Hector update brings the Black Market, revised Hellgates, and revised Outlands - Hector is coming! That's not a person's name; it's the name of an update in Albion Online, so you can spare yourself getting a cake ready and all of that.…
Ship of Heroes upgrades its graphic engine - Even superheroes like to look their best. The Ship of Heroes team announced that it just finished updating the game's graphic engine to Unreal Engine 4.14.3, which will give the…
Crowfall explains the logic and breadth of passive powers - It is reasonable to assume that anyone who has spent a bit of time playing MMOs is familiar with the basic concept of passive powers. They're powers you don't click…
Shroud of the Avatar polishes up the desert, teases a moondial - What's that up in the header screenshot? Is it Conan Exiles? Nope -- it's Shroud of the Avatar's Sequanna Colossus map and my favorite kind of biome, and it's due…
Ashes of Creation aims to be biggest MMORPG Kickstarter of all time - "I think in a couple of days we may be the number one Kickstarted MMORPG ever." Dream big, Intrepid Studios! As Ashes of Creation bears down on its crowdfunding home…
Legends of Aria charges straight at the Knight prestige class - What is a skill-based, freeform character system doing with classes? While it might seem like an oxymoron, Legends of Aria says that it has good reason for including optional prestige classes…
Ashes of Creation
Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching
3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. Work continues.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k; beta began Oct 2016.
Antraxx (Team Antraxx) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten Studios) – Successful KS. Fully launched 2016.
Camelot Unchained (City State) – Kickstarter successful; open donations/packages.
Caribbean Conquest (Invenio) – First KS canceled, second ended unsuccessfully.
Contested Space (Zon)
Crowfall (ArtCraft) – Kickstarter win, open packages, Indiegogo crowdfunding ongoing.
Chronicles of Elyria (Soulbound) – Kickstarter successful, open packages.
Citadel of Sorcery (MMO Magic, Inc.) –Â Open donations.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media) – Successful KS; launch planned for fall 2018.
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios) – Successful KS.
Divergence Online (Stained Glass Llama)Â –Â Three campaigns; now in KS early access.
Dogma: Eternal Night (Prelude Games Factory): Kickstarter over, donor preorder packs.
Dragon of Legends (Thrive Games) – Successful Kickstarter.
Dual Universe (Novaquark) – Kickstarter funded, now has donor platform. Alpha delayed.
Eco (Strange Loop Games) – Funded, now in alpha.
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded; in early access.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and launched.
Empyrion Online (Eleon) – Kickstarter canceled; launched on Steam early access.
Epic Space (EpicSpace.net)
Ever, Jane (3 Turn Productions) – Now in open beta.
Gloria Victis (Black Eye Games) – Open donations, no end date; in early access.
Greed Monger (Greed Monger) – Abandoned, multiple times now.
Grim Dawn (Crate Entertainment) – Funded and launched.
Guns of Icarus (Muse) – Funded and launched.
Hero’s Song (Pixelmage) –Â KS canceled; Indiegogo. Canceled w/ refunds.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment) –Â Funded and launched.
Legends of Aria (Citadel Studios) – Kickstarted as Shards Online. Currently in alpha.
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended. Currently in beta.
LUX (Chimera) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maestros of the Anthymn (String Theory) – Kickstarter canceled.
Mekria (Infinity Online Studios) – Kickstarter canceled.
Midair (Archetype Studios) – Kickstarter successful.
Nebula Online (Mizar Games) Kickstarter canceled; launched in November.
Neo’s Land (NeoJac Entertainment) –Â Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
OrbusVR (Ad Alternum) – KS funded March 2017.
Overpower (Hydrant Games) –Â Kickstarter unfunded; heading to early access.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (Visionary Realms) –Â Open donations, no end date.
Pathfinder Online (GoblinWorks) – Doom, mostly.
Planet Nomads (Craneballs) – Kickstarted, early access launched sans multiplayer.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game) – Kickstarted in three tries + Indiegogo. In alpha.
Pumpkin Online (Monique) – Downgrading from MMORPG.
The Exiled (Fairytale Distillery) – fka Das Tal; 2015Â KSÂ unsuccesful. In Steam early access.
The Realm: Reawakened (Stephen Nichols) – Ongoing GoFundMe.
The Repopulation (Idea Fabrik) – Kickstarted twice by A&B. Back in alpha
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; now in early access.
RUiN (Tarhead Studio) – Kickstarter successful.
The Stomping Land (Alex Fundora) – Abandoned.
Sacrament (Ferocity Unbound) – Kickstarter failed; Patreon ongoing.
Shadow’s Kiss (Clockwork Throne) – Ongoing Patreon.
Shroud of the Avatar (Portalarium) – Successful KS. Soft launch July 2016.
Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium) – Ongoing donations/packages.
TUG (Nerd Kingdom) – In middle of year-long revamp after funding surge.
Vigor Roads (NeuronHaze) – Kickstarter unsuccessful; early access planned for 2017.
