This week in MMO crowdfunding, Elite: Dangerous rather unceremoniously announced on social media that the 2.3 Commanders update will launch around the middle of April — this is the huge update with multicrew ship functionality and the character creation system. (Thanks, ThatLanteshGuy!)
Meanwhile, Shroud of the Avatar launched its 40th update, Sweden jumped into small-scale equity crowdfunding with FundedByMe, Dual Universe reassured players about its video graphics, Edengrad hits early access this coming week, and Starfighter, Inc. held an AMA to promote its ongoing Kickstarter.
We also hosted Legends of Aria founder Derek Brinkmann on a special edition of the podcast this week, so if you’re curious about the large-scale future of what used to be the more small-scale Shards Online, give it a thorough listen. Then 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.
Ashes of Creation explains nodes, again
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
The first new patch for The Repopulation should be in about five weeks - When The Repopulation returned under new management, it was an understood fact that it would be a while before the game got its first patch. And it's true, it will…
The many faces of Camelot Unchained - Terrible pun title in honor of April Fools' Day! This week's Camelot Unchained update touches on art, interface, and ability cooldowns, but the most interesting bits are surely the faces…
Path of Exile is rewriting minion masters for Fall of Oriath - [AL:POE]Heads-up, minion masters, which is basically all the lazy people who love clicky RPGs, including me: Path of Exile is making what Grinding Gear Games is calling "significant changes" to…
Star Citizen Around the Verse: Building ships and then blowing them up - This week's edition of Star Citizen's Around the Verse heralds the release of the 2.6.2 update on the PTU -- and yes, the Buccaneer is in it. That's a handy…
Shroud of the Avatar launches Release 40 and its next few update plans - It's the end of the month, and that means that there's another Shroud of the Avatar patch available right now. The bad news is that the patch has already required…
Take a look at Crowfall’s massive Eternal Kingdoms system - We're just going to put this out there: Crowfall's Eternal Kingdoms are more than just the "social backbone" of the game; they're one of the core mechanics of persistence that…
Post-apoc MMO Edengrad will enter Steam early access April 4 - Fallout-inspired post-apoc MMO Edengrad is one step closer to launch today as it's announced it'll hit Steam's early access program on April 4th, following a day-long stream. Expect it to…
Chronicles of Elyria recaps development over the month of March - It's been a busy time for Chronicles of Elyria as the development team has worked on putting together a portion of the game to show off for GDC and PAX…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 110: Legends of Aria’s Derek Brinkmann - Justin interviews Legends of Aria's Derek Brinkmann on the game's switch from Shards Online, Ultima origins, open PvP, private servers, and the shift to full MMORPG status.
Shroud of the Avatar’s new ‘outskirts’ maps should be a big help for newbies - Shroud of the Avatar's latest newsletter -- its 220th for those keeping track at home -- got a fresh coat of paint to celebrate, and as usual, it's stuffed full…
Path of Exile has ‘a lot more expansions coming’ - [AL:POE]Pretty much every MMO player dreams of sitting his or her favorite developers down to get the honest and direct truth. While Grinding Gear Games isn't making house calls (yet),…
Ashes of Creation really wants you to grok its node system - We've teased upcoming Ashes of Creation for its "nodes," and apparently Intrepid Studios agrees that they're confusing, as the MMORPG has released a dev blog this afternoon explaining just what…
Kickstarter celebrates 10,000 funded games projects - Kickstarter announced last week that donors have officially backed 10,000 funded games projects. That's almost 2.5 million people pledging $613 million; more than half of those donors backed multiple projects.…
Mark Kern’s Em-8ER on omniframe classes, THMPR animations - Mark Kern's crowdfunded MMO-shooter Em-8ER has a slew of new videos out this week featuring animations for the THMPR, finishing off the mech's "basic animation set." "Next up is our…
Project Gorgon adds bards, reduces group sizes - Ever wonder what use "vocabulary" and "poetry appreciation" would be in Project Gorgon? The game's latest alpha snapshot has a good answer: barding! Yes, Eldergame has introduced the bard skill.…
Star Citizen’s Buccaneer WIP
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; early access begins Apr 4.
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) – Successful Kickstarter. Early access hits April 18.
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; early access delayed to 2017.
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.
