Welcome back to another Make My MMO, the long-running MMORPG crowdfunding column where we keep track of crowdfunded MMOs be they launched or lingering, only to be told next week by someone that no crowdfunded MMOs ever launch even though they definitely do!
Saga of Lucimia, which was partly funded on Indiegogo and partly through a custom website backing system, was the subject of much scrutiny this week as news that the game’s original founder and creative font had all but left the project last fall, well before the game’s community manager led everyone to believe that everything was going peachy. Creative Director Tim “Renfail” Anderson announced in January that he’d stepped away from Lucimia’s development, but he didn’t announce it to Lucimia testers and backers; he announced it on the Patreon for his new game. Saga of Lucimia developers at Stormhaven Studios said this week that development on the crowdfunded MMO “has not slowed” and that testing continues under NDA, an assertion that appears to be backed up by testers on the game’s Discord. To be honest, they might be better off now, and we have no reason not to wish the current dev team the best of luck.
Meanwhile, Ashes of Creation delayed its alpha one test to June, Legends of Aria appears to be inching toward maintenance mode, we checked in on Valiance Online, our Fight or Kite column gave Crowfall’s latest patch a spin, Titan Reach headed into what it’s calling early access, Elite Dangerous set Odyssey’s PC beta alpha for March 29th, and Zenith opened preorders for its alpha.
Read on for more on what’s been up with MMO crowdfunding over the last few weeks, plus our roundup of all the crowdfunded MMOs we’re following!
Pantheon
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Saga of Lucimia’s founder hasn’t been involved in the game’s development since last fall
Ashes of Creation delays its alpha one test to June for ‘additional polish’
TitanReach has officially kicked off early access
Fight or Kite: Crowfall’s Transformation added necessary polish to bring us closer to launch
Whatever happened to superhero MMO Valiance Online?
Star Citizen talks up land vehicle physics changes as CIG devs rebut claims of mistreatment during Texas snowstorm
Albion Online offers a closer look at the upcoming loadouts feature
Star Citizen XenoThreat postmortem talks co-op gameplay, performance issues, and PvP imbalance
Book of Travels offers some background details for the Braided Shore
Elite Dangerous explores missions, spawning, bounties, and more Odyssey details
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen addresses crafting and harvesting in latest dev roundtable
Legends of Aria indefinitely delays patch, works on experimental server instead
Interview: Camelot Unchained lays out its innovative alchemy system
Star Citizen shows off alpha 3.13’s big new caves and previews new vehicle-based mining tools
VR MMO Zenith plans alpha for April 16, posts new zone vids
Elite Dangerous sets Odyssey PC alpha for March 29, drops brand-new mission video
Star Citizen shares new enemy NPC behaviors, continued work on Orison, and new weapon progress
Crowfall posts development and launch roadmap, promotes Hunger Dome battle royale
TitanReach shows off crafting stations and NPC creation, promises servers are ‘ready to launch’
Albion Online buffs castle and outpost point generation ahead of Season 12 PvP
Fractured updates players on the tech tree and studio investment while delaying its next test
After just four months in open beta, pixel MMO Naïca is already in maintenance mode
The Wagadu Chronicles shares development progress on spirits, the savanna, UI elements, and ceremonies
Camelot Unchained details work on fog, the Verdant Forest, the Golden Plains, and new races
Shroud of the Avatar improves crafting as Richard Garriott dives to the bottom of the ocean
Star Citizen
Campaigns and crowdfunded MMOs we’re watching
3001SQ (Société des Mondes Virtuels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful, dev halted in 2018.
AdventureQuest 3D (Artix Entertainment) – Raised 368k; beta began Oct 2016.
Albion Online (Sandbox) – Launched July 2017, hit Steam May 2018.
Antraxx (Team Antraxx) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ascent: The Space Game (Fluffy Kitten) – Successful KS. Launched 2016.
Ashes of Creation (Intrepid Studios) – Successful KS. Alpha zero.
Book of Travels (Might and Delight) – Kickstarted. Closed beta.
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.
Codename Reality (Orode) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Contested Space (Zon)
Crowfall (ArtCraft) – Kickstarter win, Indiegogo. Beta.
Chronicles of Elyria (Soulbound) – Kickstarter. Apparently un-abandoned?
City of Heroes Homecoming (Homecoming) – Monthly donation rounds.
City of Titans (Missing Worlds Media) – Successful KS.
Dawngate (Studio Wayfinder). Kickstarter successful.
Day of Dragons (Beawesome) – Kickstarter successful.
Descent Underground (Descendent Studios) – Successful KS.
Destiny’s Sword (2Dogs) – Kickstarter successful June 2019; demo avail now.
Divergence Online (Stained Glass Llama) – Abandoned in early access.
Dogma: Eternal Night (Prelude Games Factory): Kickstarter. Probably dead.
Dragon of Legends (Thrive Games) – Successful Kickstarter.
Dual Universe (Novaquark) – Kickstarter funded, donor platform. Paid beta.
Eco (Strange Loop Games) – Funded, now in beta.
Edengrad (Huckleberry Games) – Kickstarter funded. Abandoned, then not, then again.
Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments) – Funded and fully launched.
Empyrion Online (Eleon) – Kickstarter canceled; launched on Steam early access.
Endless Trials (Fire Hurts) – Kickstarter canceled.
Epic Space (EpicSpace.net)
EverFeud (PSB) – Kickstarter canceled.
Ever, Jane (3 Turn Productions) – Successful Kickstarter. Sunsetted in 2020.
Fractured (Dynamight) – Kickstarter successful. Alpha 2.
Frozen Flame (Dreamside) – Fig campaign successful. In founder alpha.
Global Adventures (SubaGames) – Kickstarter funded.
Gloria Victis (Black Eye Games) – Open donations, no end date; in early access.
Greed Monger (Greed Monger) – Abandoned, now allegedly in refund process.
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) – KS canceled; Indiegogo. Canceled w/ refunds.
Infinity: Battlescape (I-Novae Studios)
HEX (HEX Entertainment) – Funded, launched; sunsetted in 2020.
Ilysia (Team 21) – Kickstarter fully funded Oct 2020.
Legends of Aria (Citadel Studios) – Kickstarted as Shards Online. Launched 2020.
Life is Feudal (Bitbox): Indiegogo ended. Closed and maintenance-moded.
LUX (Chimera) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maestros of the Anthymn (String Theory) – Kickstarter canceled.
Maguss (Maguss) – Indiegogo successful; open beta.
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) – Open donations, no end date.
Novus AEterno (Taitale Studios)
Oath (Ready-Up) – Kickstarter funded. Seemingly abandoned.
Occupy White Walls (Stikipixels) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Odd Giants (Odd Giants) – Patreon ongoing.
OrbusVR (Ad Alternum) – KS funded March 2017. In early access.
Overpower (Hydrant Games) – Kickstarter unfunded; heading to early access.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen (Visionary Realms) – Open donations. Pre-alpha.
Pantropy (Brain Stone GmbH): First Kickstarter canceled, second funded. In EA.
Past Fate (Icy North): First Kickstarter unsuccessful, second successful.
Pathfinder Online (GoblinWorks) – Still alive but struggling.
Path of Titans (Alderon) – Indiegogo.
Planet Nomads (Craneballs) – Kickstarted, early access launched sans multiplayer.
Playcraft (Bebop Games) – Kickstarter funded May 2019.
Pixel Starships (SavySoda)
Project Gorgon (Elder Game) – Kickstarted in three tries + Indiegogo. Early access.
Project Oasis World (POW) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Pumpkin Online (Monique) – Downgrading from MMORPG.
RAW (Killerwhale) – Kickstarter canceled by Kickstarter.
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; in early access but not active dev.
RUiN (Tarhead Studio) – Kickstarter successful.
Sacrament (Ferocity Unbound) – Kickstarter failed; Patreon ongoing.
Saga of Lucimia (Stormhaven) – Indiegogo. Pre-alpha.
Seed (Klang Games) – Kickstarter imminent?
Shadow’s Kiss (Clockwork Throne) – Ongoing Patreon, Kickstarter funded.
Ship of Heroes (Heroic) – Kickstarter canceled, launch expected in 2021.
Shroud of the Avatar (Portalarium) – Soft launch July 2016. Launched March 2018.
Spycursion (Defun) – Kickstarter unsuccessful.
Squadron 42 (Cloud Imperium) – Beta delayed until who knows when.
Star Citizen (Cloud Imperium) – Ongoing donations/packages. Backer alpha.
Starfighter Infinity (Ben Olding) – Kickstarter funded. Early access.
Swords ‘n Magic and Stuff (Kindred) – Kickstarter funded. Early access.
Temtem (Crema) – Kickstarter fully funded; now in early access.
The Exiled (Fairytale Distillery) – fka Das Tal; KS unsuccessful. Early access but dev halted.
The Flower of Knighthood – Kickstarter canceled.
The Realm: Reawakened (Stephen Nichols) – Ongoing GoFundMe.
The Repopulation (Idea Fabrik) – Kickstarted twice by A&B. Back in alpha.
The Stomping Land (Alex Fundora) – Abandoned.
The Wagadu Chronicles (Twin Drums) – Kickstarter successful.
TitanReach (Square Root) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. In demo/early access.
Trials of Ascension (Dragonfire) – Latest Kickstarter failed.
TUG (Nerd Kingdom) – Abandoned without a word. Scam.
Vigor Roads (NeuronHaze) – Kickstarter unsuccessful. Website dead/abandoned.
War of Rights (Campfire Games) – Successful Kickstarter; in early access.
Zenith (Ramen) – Kickstarter successfully funded; now in pre-alpha.
Ashes of Creation
🐏 Are these horns big enough?
This breed of stocky sheep has dwelled alongside the Empyrean peoples for generations, trained in the illustrious art of charging the enemy line.
📚 Fore more lore: https://t.co/w2CymxpWPj pic.twitter.com/nm71K1PBij
— Ashes of Creation (@AshesofCreation) March 10, 2021
Yes, some crowdfunded MMOs most definitely do succeed. But others crash and burn, and you need to hear about the whole spectrum of games that sought your money early in exchange for the promise of input and transparency. And that’s exactly what Make My MMO does every Saturday. Help us keep ’em accountable, would ya?
