This week in MMO crowdfunding, the much-anticipated indie sci-fi sandbox Dual Universe dropped a starship-load of tutorials on ship construction, the interface, territory, and more. They’re aimed at folks in the pre-alpha, another weekend of which kick off earlier today – it’s a nice chunk of backers, if the activity graph posted to Twitter earlier is any judge. (Cheers, Cotic!)
Meanwhile, HEX launched on PS4, Star Citizen confirmed it’s still granting refunds but isn’t launching S42 this year, Legends of Aria wrapped up its alpha, and Albion Online launched a new trial program.
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’re following.
Dual Universe
😃 pic.twitter.com/AG77fhfWDm
— Dual Universe (@dualuniverse) October 21, 2017
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Freeman: Star Edge is a slick-looking space sim that might go multiplayer - Have that urge to explore the wild galactic yonder? Here's a potential candidate to steal your time in the future called Freeman: Star Edge. Billing itself as a "mash-up of…
Star Citizen: Around the Verse, alpha 3.0 bugs, and the state of refunds - Let's just get this out of the way upfront: There are 25 serious issues still on the docket before Star Citizen's alpha 3.0 moves from Evocati testers to the next…
Camelot Unchained adds a post office messaging system - It's a productive era for the Camelot Unchained, as the team has reduced testing in order to "buckle down and focus" on development projects. One of these is a new…
Ashes of Creation shows new images, talks about its ‘mini-Sim City’ design - Following a flurry of blog posts, its PAX West appearance, and its crowdfunding campaign, Ashes of Creation has gone downright silent this fall. It's probably more fair to label it…
Chronicles of Elyria begins price increases in preparation of pre-alpha releases - Great ready to pay more for Chronicles of Elyria. Soulbound Studios announced this week that it is preparing to raise the prices on all of its packages, a move that…
Project Gorgon’s huge UI revamp is a ‘major stepping stone’ toward Steam early access - Interface junkies, gather round, especially if you like detailed old-school-inspired MMORPGs, for Project Gorgon has unveiled a detailed tour of its new UI. It's been "written to take advantage of…
Crowfall demos more action harvesting, starts taking guild name reservations - Crowfall isn't content to make gathering as dull and repetitive as in other MMOs, which is why the team is putting great stock in its so-called "action harvesting." This system…
Legends of Aria wraps up final alpha test - It's time for Legends of Aria to say farewell to alpha once and for good. The fantasy MMO wrapped up its so-called final alpha test over the weekend and turned…
Star Citizen helps players find the right spaceship for them - With all of the many spaceships designed (and sold) for Star Citizen so far, it might be a little confusing which might be the best for any particular person or…
Albion Online’s new trial is a referral system that costs the referrer in-game gold - If last week's rumors about a new trial version in Albion Online had you excited, good news for you: It's actually happening and in fact is already in place as…
Ashes of Creation is hosting a virtual costume ball for Halloween - Can a game that isn't even in alpha yet have a Halloween celebration? Heck yes it can, Intrepid Studios says, and it has one such planned for Ashes of Creation,…
No, Squadron 42 isn’t going to release this year - All right, let's be honest, you probably didn't actually think that Star Citizen's much-delayed single-player Squadron 42 was coming out this year. Around this time last year, it was confirmed…
Shroud of the Avatar sells toilets and wheelchairs for charity - While it still continues on that long road to launch, Shroud of the Avatar is using some of its development time and resources to help those in need outside of…
Chronicles of Elyria picks up former Revival lead developer - Has enough time gone by to start erasing memories of Revival, that ambitious but troubled horror MMO that was canceled back in March 2016? While the project is dead, its…
Ship of Heroes reveals its Lightning Blast powerset with a new video - It's sacrilege to say it, I'm sure, but I never loved lightning powers in City of Heroes - lightning wasn't much of a damage element, instead being focused around sapping…
Camelot Unchained builds boats for beta - A diverse smattering of projects kept the Camelot Unchained team busy this past week, per the game's newsletter report. It sounds as though players will have to earn their sea…
Frontier Expo 2017: Science, history, and gaming make for a great first con - This past weekend was not the first time I have attended a developer's convention, but Frontier Expo 2017Â was one of only a very few times when I have been able…
Pantheon’s halflings are more like Peter Pan’s Lost Boys than Tolkien’s hobbits - The MOP team tricked me into taking this post. They promised me gnomes. They aren't gnomes at all. They're halflings! We're talking, of course, about Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen,…
City of Titans outlines power set design for the game - As a spiritual successor to City of Heroes, there's an obvious line through City of Titans when it comes to powers. That does not, however, mean that the game is…
Star Citizen’s Around the Verse isolates 23 more 3.0 alpha bugs, details immersive cockpits - On this week's edition of Star Citizen's Around the Verse, Sandi Gardiner does a happy dance as Chris Roberts updates viewers on how Evocati testing of the 3.0 alpha is…
Crowfall wraps up its launch lineup with the Centaur, Minotaur, and Guinecean races - Over the past month or so, Crowfall has been steadfastly working its way through the list of the dozen races that will be available during the game's remaining testing and…
Legends of Aria awakens something nasty during its final alpha - Something evil and sinister has awakened in Legends of Aria, but that is actually pretty exciting news for alpha testers seeking new challenges and content to conquer. Wednesday's alpha patch…
Grim Dawn’s ‘massive’ Ashes of Malmouth expansion has launched on Steam - Crate Entertainment has this week launched a huge expansion for its madly popular multiplayer OARPG Grim Dawn. Ashes of Malmouth is live now and runs $17.99 on Steam (the base…
Chronicles of Elyria unveils its official launch kingdoms - Monty Python and the Holy Grail forever gave us the perfect test for whether or not someone is the king: see if he's got fecal matter all over him. Presumably,…
Ship of Heroes has finished up its first character creator alpha – here’s what you built - Quietly zipping along this fall is City of Heroes spiritual successor Ship of Heroes, which has been running a small external alpha test with backers focused on its character creator…
C-3PO lookalike joins Shroud of the Avatar in release 47 - OK, so C-3PO isn't really being imported into Shroud of the Avatar, but the game's new automaton sure looks a lot like him (minus his silver leg!). He's one of the…
Frontier Expo 2017: Elite Dangerous goes ‘Beyond’ with big plans for 2018 - When I spoke to Elite Dangerous' devs at this year's Frontier Expo 2017, the company's first fan expo, they admitted that communication went dark for a time. But it wasn't…
SOTA postmortem
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.
Albion Online (Sandbox) – Launched July 2017.
Antraxx (Team Antraxx) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten Studios) – Successful KS. Fully launched 2016.
Ashes of Creation (Intrepid Studios) – Successful KS.
Broke Protocol (Cylinder) – Unsuccessful KS. In free early access.
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. Pre-alpha.
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.
Global Adventures (SubaGames) – Kickstarter funded.
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.
Guardians of Ember (Runewaker) – 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. Alpha ended.
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.
