This week in MMO crowdfunding news, sci-fi sandbox Dual Universe is making the final preparations for its Kickstarter, which launches this coming Wednesday. “For those who are still wondering why we are going the crowdfunding road, here is the short answer: while we are an indie studio which has been helped by business angels, to make a game with the scope of Dual Universe, we need to raise more funds,” says studio Novaquark. “The more backing we will have, the stronger we will be, and the more independent we can remain: either by having the game entirely funded by the community, or simply by making us stronger in negotiations with third parties.
Meanwhile, Shards Online told players it’s tripling the size of its map before launch; Project Gorgon unleashed a spider form for Labor Day (“If you’ve ever wanted to spit acid, inject your eggs into your enemy’s still-living body, or coat everyone in poison, Spider is for you”); Smedley gave a teaser about Hero’s Song; and edu-sandbox ECO released a new trailer for PAX.
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!
ECO’s PAX trailer
On Hero’s Song’s ladies
We decided to make the women in our game kick ass instead of giving them giant chests and skimpy outfits. pic.twitter.com/Q3YD1kFluG
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) September 2, 2016
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Shroud of the Avatar refines Release 33, works on stability - Shroud of the Avatar's last content update, Release 33, came out last week, but the team hasn't been satisfied with a one-and-done approach to the patch. Since August 25th, the…
The Exiled puts forth its plans for dealing with feedback - The last few weeks for The Exiled (the game formerly known as Das Tal) have provided the developers with a lot of feedback. Plenty of feedback, even. Enough feedback that everyone…
Crashed alien ship spotted in Elite Dangerous - Finding proof of alien life, even extinct alien life, has been one of the holy grails of explorers in Elite Dangerous. And now pilots have discovered the wreck of an alien…
Take a look at Crowfall’s male Ranger and female Champion - Each of Crowfall's archetypes tends to be associated with a specific gender because the game's archetypes are a bit more comprehensive than simply classes. But that's not to say that…
Albion Online introduces the Hell artifacts - A new batch of artifacts is arriving in Albion Online, and it's hellish. These are literally called the Hell Artifacts, you see, and are forged with the aids of Hell…
See how you can build your own spaceships in Dual Universe - If you've ever watched developers slap together spaceships (and sell them to you for a few hundred actual, not-play-money dollars) and thought, "I could make something better than that," then…
You can hide your costume in City of Titans - "It's taken three years. Three years of every possible thing going wrong. Three years of trial and effort, of skill and talent, of error after error after error." After three…
Wild Terra adds blacksmithing and more metal items - Did you dig up a whole lot of metal when Wild Terra introduced mining with no thought to what you'd do with it? We know you did. "Hiram, my boy,…
AdventureQuest 3D gives a spooky tour of its Halloween dungeon - According to major retail stores, we're already in the Halloween-slash-Thanksgiving-slash-Christmas shopping season, so don't be too scandalized when you hear that AdventureQuest 3D is already giving a preview of its…
Crowfall answers more questions on building in your Eternal Kingdom - Player housing? Pah. That's thinking small. Now Crowfall, Crowfall is working on delivering its players the keys to citadels, castles, and palaces. It's a big project that's just a small…
Camelot Unchained continues ‘re-abilitation’ project ahead of beta - 7400 words: That makes this month's Camelot Unchained newsletter one of the shortest to date, but it's still packed with info. "In brief, a lot of stability issues were crushed,…
Project Gorgon promises weekly updates, eyes late 2017 launch - Fans of Project Gorgon who are starved for news about the in-development indie title will be glad to hear that the team has promised to deliver weekly updates about the…
Shroud of the Avatar is working on new city templates, lot raffling system - Shroud of the Avatar's latest newsletter celebrates the additional $200,000 in crowdfunding raised during the latest telethon and recaps the launch of the 33rd release patch, which introduced new areas,…
Chronicles of Elyria team uses tabletop game theory to design its MMO - How does one create a brand-new MMORPG from scratch? One method is apparently using "paper prototypes," or using the format of a tabletop RPG to test out various systems in…
Dual Universe’s PAX trailer
Shards Online roundtable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uiOpLJaw0
Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching
3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. Work continues.
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.) –Â Open donations.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media)
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios)
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.
Eco (Strange Loop Games)
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded June 2016; early access coming Sept.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and launched.
Empyrionn 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.
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) –Â Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
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)
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.
