This week in MMO crowdfunding news, ArtCraft says over 9000 gamers have been invited to try to break the three alpha servers active during Crowfall’s “Big World” playtest. “We’ve shifted our development approach to be more like a live MMO,” says Creative Director and Co-Founder J. Todd Coleman. Still on the way “soon” are the new crafting skill trees, unique world maps, the necromancy system that serves as the foundation for avatar swapping, and the protype for the Eternal Kingdoms. The company also crossed the minimum threshold for its Indiegogo-based equity crowdfunding effort, though it has been thus far unwilling to answer questions about its now-public finances.
Meanwhile, Pantheon is plotting a stream on December 9th, Ship of Heroes became the fourth City of Heroes spiritual successor (and has crowdfunding on the way), Star Citizen began testing alpha 26, Richard Garriott donated an in-game skull to a tavern in Shroud of the Avatar, and The Exiled kicked off its closed alpha (for which we still have keys!).
Finally, we sat down with Project Gorgon’s Eric Heimburg to chat about the state of the game and its graphics plans for 2017.
Read on for more on what’s up with MMO crowdfunding over the last couple of weeks and the regular roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’ve got our eye on!
The Exiled’s closed alpha trailer
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Albion Online recaps the ups and downs of the Faye update - The most recent large patch for Albion Online is live and in the wild right now, and if you're playing the game's beta, you probably have had plenty of time…
Ship of Heroes becomes the fourth City of Heroes spiritual successor - How many spiritual successors will it take to fill the void that was left by City of Heroes' shutdown? We now know the answer: four. It takes four spiritual successors…
Star Citizen begins testing 2.6 alpha, aims to release it on December 16 - In this week's episode of Star Citizen Around the Verse, Sandi Gardiner is joined by Technical Director Sean Tracy to issue the latest big announcement for the game: The 2.6…
Hero’s Song adds dungeon boss encounters, friends list, and roadways - It's always important to keep in mind that early access is quite often just an alpha in need of a great amount of construction and experimentation. As Hero's Song barrels…
Camelot Unchained picks up new staffers, explains big battles - This month's Camelot Unchained newsletter has arrived, and it's packed -- official word count: 7886. On the staffing front, which is net good news, the team has said farewell to…
Nature cops who punch kraken: Catching up with Project Gorgon’s Eric Heimburg - As many of you are well aware, we here at Massively OP are pretty fascinated with the work being done by MMO industry veterans Eric Heimburg and Sandra Powers on Project…
City of Titans lays out its ‘huge’ metropolis map - As the City of Titans team picks up steam in anticipation for the game's fall 2018 launch window, there are some tough choices to be made about what will and…
The Exiled begins its closed alpha today, and we’ve got keys! - The closed alpha for The Exiled -- the game formerly known as Das Tal -- has begun! From December 1st to December 21st, early backers and those with keys can…
Crowfall crosses minimum goal for its equity crowdfunding effort - ArtCraft announced today day that it's "officially crossed the minimum necessary threshold" for its latest crowdfunding effort for Crowfall. It's now raised $152,084 with 47 days to go. In November,…
Albion Online shows off the Keepers of Albion - Since ancient times, the Keepers of Albion have prowled the wilds of Albion Online, rejecting civilization and venerating the wild. The latest lore video for the game shows off exactly…
Crowfall is retiring 2016 pledge packages on December 5 - There's just a few days left for you to pick up older Crowfall pledge packages, ArtCraft reminded players this week. "We had originally planned to retire these 2016 packages and…
The Exiled adds in a clan finder and whispering chat - A fair chunk of gameplay in The Exiled does involve having a clan to call your own, but up until now finding one has mostly been a matter of meeting…
Richard Garriott donates skull to player tavern during Shroud of the Avatar telethon - If you follow Shroud of the Avatar, you already know that studio Portalarium does seasonal streamed fundraisers to drive pledges for the game. Yesterday's "Fall into Winter Telethon" raised $112,500Â and…
Guardians of Ember comes to early access on December 13 - [AL:GOE]Hopefully you weren't cursed by the fact that Guardians of Ember failed to meet its announced early access launch back in September. Obviously, the title was delayed from its public debut…
Albion Online to improve its PvE experiencce - Game Director Robin Henkys kicked off the first of a series of Albion Online development recap videos this past week to give players an update on what's happening behind the…
Space roguelike Lazarus kicks off persistent servers - It's the end of the world. Again and again and again. Lazarus is an unusual space roguelike shooter in which players fly 2-D ships and try to save the human…
Worlds Adrift announces Q1 2017 early access launch - While it was originally slated to come out this year, the sky sailing World Adrift announced on Friday that it is delaying its early access release to the beginning of…
Fragmented invents never-rotting food - The future is amazing, is it not? With spaceships, fabricators, and interplanetary colonization, there's no limit to what can be done! What's that you say? It's not a glorious future…
City of Titans targets a fall 2018 launch - City of Titans fans, we have some really good news for you today! The dev team posted an image on Facebook to announce the game's launch window. The date? Fall…
Grim Dawn previews December update - While a full-fledged expansion for Grim Dawn is in the works, that doesn't mean the team has abandoned updates for the core game in the meantime. In fact, a new…
Albion Online salutes its Faye update - The frontiers of Albion Online have expanded to include the wilds of its new forest biome. The ancient woods have plenty of resources, but those attempting to harvest them might…
Elite Dangerous players accuse Frontier of ignoring combat exploit - If you thought that your politically divided family dinner table will be the most awkward situation this Thanksgiving week, then you need to haul yourself over to Elite Dangerous' neck…
Pre-alpha testing begins for Edengrad - Soon, you will be exploring a shattered landscape rife with the bones of the fallen, awash in a sea of wrath and human misery. But if you want a break…
Crowfall introduces the female Templar class - There are eight classes currently playable in Crowfall's pre-alpha: the Champion, Ranger, Druid, Confessor, Knight, Myrmidon, Duelist, and Legionnaire. So how would you like to hear about one that no…
Shroud of the Avatar gets gifty with exchangeable present boxes - As with every one before it, Shroud of the Avatar’s Update of the Avatar #203 packs a sleigh full of news. This time, however, it also has brings literal presents!…
Dual Universe’s new crowdfunding portal is now live - Didn't get around to backing Dual Universe back when it busted through its Kickstarter goal? Novaquark announced today that it would still like your money, and you can hand it…
Where is Jeremy Soule’s Kickstarter symphony? - Back in 2013, Composer Jeremy Soule (Landmark, Guild Wars 2) launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $10,000 to fund his personal project of creating a classical music album called The…
Project Gorgon patches alpha while holding an Indiegogo contest - A smaller build went live in Project Gorgon's alpha this past week, bringing revisions to the hammer and ice magic skill sets. The hammer set received the most love, with…
Star Citizen’s Around the Verse
Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching
3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. Work continues.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k;Â hit open beta in October.
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) – Kickstarter canceled (site offline).
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.
Eco (Strange Loop Games)
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded; now in pre-alpha.
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) – KS canceled; Indiegogo made $94K. Early access alpha.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment) – Successful Kickstarter, now playable.
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended.
LUX (Chimera) – 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)
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) – Successful Kickstarter.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game) – Kickstarted in three tries. Indiegogo ends Dec.
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 delayed to 2017.
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) – Successful KS. Final wipe/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.
