Plenty of crowdfunded have surpassed AAA titles, and plenty have also fallen short of all expectations.
The modern video game industry primarily consists of two groups: AAA developers and indie studios.
Kickstarter is arguably the most popular site that lets potential patrons vote with their wallets.
If someone sees something they like, they can give it some money and bring it to life.
However, Kickstarter is also home to just as many duds, such as theSkarp Laser Razorand theOUYA.
Titles such asShovel Knightaim to simulate games from a simpler time when sprites were 8-bit and levels were 2D.
Beyond its many throwbacks,Shovel Knightis just a fantastic game.
Yacht Club Games launched the Kickstarter campaign forShovel Knighton March 14, 2013.
Robert Toby Fox got his start in 2008 by moddingEarthbound, and now hes a household name thanks toUndertale.
TheUndertaleKickstarter campaign launched on June 24, 2013.
Not only did Fox raise the money needed for his game, but he blew backers away.
That game helped popularize the Metroidvania genre, and many people associate the title with Koji Igarashi.
If anyone could reinvigorate the Metroidvania scene for the modern age, it was him.
And we haveDivinity: Original Sin 2to thank for all of it.
Hollow Knight
Dark Soulschanged the video game industry.
Many studios tried to ape the games challenging difficulty and dark mysterious world with mixed results.
Some companies even tried adapting the Soulsborne formula to other genres and even camera perspectives.
Team CherrysHollow KnightKickstarter campaign launched on November 18, 2014.
TheWorstKickstarter Games
Godus
The gaming community has a love-hate relationship with Peter Molyneux.
Still, many gamers have historically given Molyneux the benefit of the doubt.
Well, at least they did untilGodus.
Molyneux described the game as a spiritual successor to his early god game titles likePopulousandBlack & White.
InGodus, players would lead a society to prosperity by building houses and altering the landscape.
The game launched to middling reviews, but that was only the tip of the games iceberg of disaster.
The studio eventually added microtransactions to help fund further development, which went as well as youd expect.
One of the contests prizes included 1% of the games profits.
Mighty No.
This is simply untrue.
While Igarashi programmed, directed, and producedCastlevaniagames,Inafunewas mostlyMega Mans artist.
This misconception led to one of Kickstarters most infamous campaigns.
On August 21, 2013, Inafune launched the Kickstarter campaign forMighty No.
Much likeBloodstained: Ritual of the Night,Might No.
9initially relied heavily on nostalgia.
9s campaign blasted past numerous stretch goals, including one for ananimated tie-in show.
The games poor graphics and painfullaunch trailerdidnt help matters.
Inafune planned to haveMighty No.
9mark the start of great things, but his plans evaporated like an anime fans date on prom night.
When the game launched, though, critics and gamers alike tore into the title.
If it werent for Yamaokas compositions, audiences wouldnt have found any redeeming qualities withinStray Souls.
After the failure of the Dreamcast, many gamers assumedShenmue 2s cliffhanger ending would never be resolved.
In a way, it wasnt.
June 15, 2015, marked the launch of theShenmue 3Kickstarter project.
As of writing, this game received more funding than any other video game campaign via Kickstarter.
When the game released, many gamers felt it was faithful to the first twoShenmuegames.
Too faithful, perhaps.
To make matters worse,Shenmue 3doesnt resolve anything it ends on yet another cliffhanger.Shenmue 3poisoned theShenmuename.
The Stomping Land
The video game industry goes through fads like clockwork.
For every polished adventure likeSubnautica, gamers received five crimes against coding likeThe Stomping Land.
On May 7, 2013, Alex Fundora started the crowdfunding campaign forThe Stomping Land.
Admittedly, this is standard for many Early Access games, and Fundera promised to fix these issues.
However, the improvements never came.
In this instance, players werent the only people burned by those broken promises.
Many developers who helped Fundora withThe Stomping Landleft the project, citing a lack of communication and unpaid wages.
