This week in MMO crowdfunding, Shards Online surprised the gamer community by announcing a namechange — to Legends of Aria — and a scope-change, the good kind of scope change if you’re an MMO player, as the game just got bigger.
More good news:Â The Repopulation is expected to come back online for original backers and Steam buyers tomorrow. Idea Fabrik expects the sandbox to once again be for sale on Steam later this month.
Still more good news! As I write this, indie VR MMO OrbusVR has nearly tripled its Kickstarter goal already. Its whirlwind one-week campaign ends on Monday.
Meanwhile, gamers pledged over $12K US to bring Swedish brawler RUiN to a winning Kickstarter a few days back, but Caribbean Conquest wasn’t so fortunate: Its Kickstarter ended unsuccessfully earlier this week. Plus, Dogma: Eternal Night worked on its character module, Grim Dawn talked itemization, and AdventureQuest 3D hyped The Dragons of Ashfall.
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.
Shards is now Aria
Recent MMO crowdfunding news
Star Citizen unlocks Sabre for free flight this weekend, talks about Star Marine weapons and economic chain - In honor of PAX East this weekend, Star Citizen has unlocked its Sabre fighter for anyone to try. You'll just need to use the "PAXEAST2017" code on any account to get…
Camelot Unchained’s very busy, very productive week - If there's one thing to be learned from reading Camelot Unchained's weekly updates, it's that MMORPGs take a whole lot of work in so many different areas to pull off…
Ashes of Creation promises a ‘reactive world’ - "When you push the world it pushes back. When you give to the world, it gives back. Take too much, and the world just might bite back." The Ashes of…
PAX East 2017: Elite Dangerous and its ‘slightly cowboy free-for-all’ - Frontier is hyping Elite Dangerous' expected Q2 PS4 release at this year's PAX East (colon still MIA, sorry), complete with confirmed HOTAS support. Frontier's David Braben has a long video…
Albion Online previews next week’s Galahad update - As Albion Online barrels toward a release this summer, the devs are still frantically working to make the PvP fantasy game the best that it can be. On Monday, the…
City of Titans wants to take you downtown - What would a superhero MMO look like if it took place in a small town where the tallest building was only three stories? We'll probably never find out because it's…
Shroud of the Avatar raised $142,000 in crowdfunds yesterday - If you've been following Shroud of the Avatar a while, you know that Portalarium periodically puts on wild telethons for its Twitch viewers, streaming deep-dives into game content, Q&As, and…
Crowfall makes plans for its 24-7 test server - ArtCraft is about to take a little piece of tape and put it down over Crowfall's "on" button. "We plan to transition the game servers to 24x7 uptime within a…
The Repopulation will be playable Sunday, back on Steam later in March - The Repopulation is indeed on track to resume early access later this month as planned. "Servers will be opening up to all current players on the 12th of this month,"…
PAX East 2017: Shards Online changes its name to Legends of Aria and goes full MMORPG - Shards Online is no more: The game is now officially called Legends of Aria. Better still? It's now being marketed by Citadel Studios as a full-fledged MMORPG. Citadel's Derek "Supreem"…
Pantheon’s lorekeeper on the Perception system and elves - It's lore day over at Visionary Realms, where this month's newsletter for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is all about the story behind the game. What, did you just think…
VR MMO OrbusVR has not only funded but doubled its Kickstarter goal in one day - Did you chuck any cash at OrbusVR, the blocky-cute virtual reality MMO sandbox with the unusually small and short Kickstarter? It's a sure thing now: It's already met its $10,000…
Crowfall video addresses group balance, disciplines, and skill training - Crowfall Design Lead Thomas Blair and Senior Game Designer Mark Halash are back today with a new Q&A video answering player queries. Here are the highlights! Regarding armor mitigation: You'd…
Chronicles of Elyria devs answer questions about its trio of ‘pre-alpha experiences’ - While the full MMO of Chronicles of Elyria is a ways off just yet, the developers want to get players involved and in the world "ridiculously early." This is why…
Project Gorgon wants your help to test out its Orc dungeon - Project Gorgon's biggest and toughest dungeon is now in the game, but the developers have a confession: They're not sure how tough or easy it is. Since the MMO uses…
Virtual reality MMO OrbusVR has launched a one-week Kickstarter campaign - A week ago, we told you about OrbusVR, a full-scale VR MMORPG built for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift -- and today, the Kickstarter for the game is live.…
OrbusVR Kickstarter pitch
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.
Eco (Strange Loop Games) – Funded, now in alpha.
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) –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)
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. 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. Alpha relaunch March 2017.
ROKH (Darewise) – Kickstarter canceled; early access delayed to 2017.
RUiN (Tarhead Studio) – Kickstarter ends March 9.
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.
