This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Camelot Unchained closed out a quiet July with a newsletter and state-of-the-game address. CSE boss Mark Jacobs told players that progress since the game’s setbacks this past spring has been strong; this summer will see the addition of many new abilities to the retooled system, in-house animation is revving up, and new waves of testing are on the way. Beta 1? Not yet, but Jacobs says he’s hoping to announce Beta 1’s planned date after early backers have had time to test some of the on-deck pushes.
“This attitude of not rushing a ‘Not ready for Prime Time Beta’ has meant/means/will continue to drive a slower march to release than we would all like, but after certain games’ issues at launch, do you really want us to do it differently?” he asks. “I hope not, because this is the right way to do things, and one of the advantages of being a crowd-funded game – we won’t be rushed into releasing a game to meet somebody else’s needs, other than the long-term needs of our Backers for a stable, fun, and 100% ‘Ready for Prime Time’ game. And as Alpha, Beta 1, and IT Backers will be seeing over the next few weeks, our time and your/my money has been well-spent.”
Meanwhile, Das Tal is wrapping up its final summer alpha weekend, Star Citizen kicked off a refreshed season of community videos, Grim Dawn teased new content, and Shroud of the Avatar pushed out Release 32, which officially marked the last wipe of the game and unofficially marked the closest thing it’s going to see to a launch.
Read on for more on what’s up with MMO crowdfunding this week and the roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’ve got our eye on!
Camelot Unchained newsletter gallery
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Albion Online reveals color-coded swamp biome, teases new UI - Albion Online has a couple of teasers and deep-dives out this week. First up is a look at the newly installed swamp biome. "Biomes will look differently depending on where…
Star Citizen’s new season of Around the Verse shakes up the format - Season three of Star Citizen's long-running Around the Verse series is kicking off this week with a special guest: Chris Roberts himself. Roberts joins regular host Sandi Gardiner to introduce…
Mark Kern to Ember followers: ‘I feel a profound sense of responsibility for what happened to Firefall’ - In the wake of the apparent complete emptying of the Red 5 Studios offices this week, former Firefall founder Mark Kern is forging ahead on his own reimagining of the…
Shroud of the Avatar raised over $130,000 last night; the not-a-launch launches today - Shroud of the Avatar's telethon yesterday raised over $130,000, Portalarium's Richard Garriott told twitter today. "Best single day ever," he wrote. "Thank you VERY much for your support. We greatly…
Fan-made StarCraft Universe goes into open beta, plans late August release - I don't think any of us is under the delusion that Blizzard is secretly working on a StarCraft MMO, no matter how insanely awesome that sounds. Fortunately, there's a fan project that's…
Fragmented’s latest patch centers on player housing, drops price to $9.99 - Above & Beyond Technologies patched Fragmented with its 16.7.2 build today with a focus on housing and player-constructed bases, complete with a new UI for placing items in buildings. "This…
AdventureQuest 3D works in mounts during its closed beta - "World leaders will meet at a summit to talk about the release of AdventureQuest 3D. By this point, the national Coffee reserves will have run into an all time low…
Crowfall shows off the workings and creation of a ballista - When your castle is attacked in Crowfall, you have a few options. You could, for example, sit back and cry a bunch. That's time-honored, but it's also unlikely to stop…
Here’s how the end (and restart) of Shroud of the Avatar will go down - Now that we are on the verge of Shroud of the Avatar turning the switch on for its persistent world state, it is important to nail down the exact details…
Worlds Adrift dev blog addresses visual effects - If you want your game to be a great experience, you can't leave out the visual effects, and Worlds Adrift devs want you to know how much they value this…
HEX dev blog offers a peek at PvE campaign’s second adventure zone - [AL:HEX]If you've finished up the PvE campaign in HEX: Shards of Fate and await more, the latest dev blog is aimed at you! With the Primal Down set released, the Steam…
Shroud of the Avatar counts down the final days to its persistent world - We are just two days away from Shroud of the Avatar's final wipe and debut of its persistent world (albeit one that's still in early access). It is hard to…
Chronicles of Elyria debates day and season length, delays store - Put yourself in the shoes of a developer and ask: How long should a day/night cycle be? What about the seasons? What if those decisions impacted guild raiding, trade, survival,…
Grim Dawn Aetherial tease
Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching
3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter ends August 18.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k; plans October launch.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten Studios) – Fully launched!
Camelot Unchained (City State) – Open donations/packages.
Caribbean Conquest (Invenio) – Kickstarter canceled (site has been taken offline).
Contested Space (Zon)
Crowfall (ArtCraft) – Open donations/packages
Chronicles of Elyria (Soulbound) – Kickstarter successful.
Citadel of Sorcery (MMO Magic, Inc.) – Open donations.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media)
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios)
Divergence Online (Stained Glass Llama) – 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.
Eco (Strange Loop Games)
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded June 2016; early access coming Sept.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and launched.
Epic Space (EpicSpace.net)
Ever, Jane (3 Turn Productions)
Gloria Victis (Black Eye Games) – Open donations, no end date.
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 Games): Kickstarter canceled; game launches in October.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment)
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended.
LUX (Chimera) – Kickstarter canceled.
Midair (Archetype Studios) – Kickstarter successful.
Neo’s Land (NeoJac Entertainment) – Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
Overpower (Hydrant Games) – Kickstarter unfunded; heading to early access.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (Visionary Realms) – Open donations, no end date.
Pathfinder Online (GoblinWorks)
Planet Nomads (Craneballs) – Successful Kickstarter.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game, LLC)
Pumpkin Online (Monique)
The Realm: Reawakened (Stephen Nichols) – Ongoing GoFundMe.
The Repopulation (Above & Beyond Technologies) – In middle of engine do-over.
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; early access planned for Sept. 2016.
The Stomping Land (Alex Fundora) – Abandoned.
Sacrament (Ferocity Unbound) – Kickstarter failed; Patreon ongoing.
Shadow’s Kiss (Clockwork Throne) – Ongoing Patreon.
Shards Online (Citadel Studios)
Shroud of the Avatar (Portalarium) – Final wipe was in 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.
