Crowfall – Crowdfunding of at least $4 million
What made the game so interesting? Crowfall aimed to revolutionize PvP MMORPGs by incorporating new sandbox and strategy elements. The developers saw the significant issue with PvP as being that strong players eventually had an uncatchable lead. They wanted to prevent this with various campaigns:
- One campaign was supposed to play out like a season of Game of Thrones. You were to create a character and enter a brutal world full of intrigue and adventure.
- This campaign was to run for a certain time, and then hunger would consume this world. Depending on how successful you were in the campaign, there would be rewards that were brought into the permanent social world “Eternal Kingdoms”.
- In the Eternal Kingdoms, there would be housing, trade, and some other elements. Primarily, you could showcase your successes there.
- Different modes were planned as campaigns, including battles for fortresses or a more open survival world.
In addition, a broad class system was announced, with 11 classes and a total of 33 sub-classes. Crafting also played an important role.
How much did it raise? Through an initial campaign on Kickstarter, $1.76 million was raised. In 2017, the developers announced that they had raised a total of $4.013 million through crowdfunding. This included pre-order packages for alpha and beta access.
Additionally, the game was able to raise at least $13 million through investors and $2 million through licenses.
What did it fail on? Crowfall was in open alpha for many years. Fans of the game tested it extensively and provided a lot of feedback. However, much of this feedback was not implemented; instead, the developers, who repeatedly received financial infusions, suddenly focused on many smaller side projects.
The significant problems, such as combat systems, the generic and sometimes empty game world, and graphics, were not addressed.
At release in July 2021, the MMORPG started with very few players because many alpha testers had already played Crowfall and deemed it not ready for release. Added to this were bugs, technical problems, and a long server outage with little communication to players. The game is said to have had a deficit of $2.4 million in the first quarter after release.
By the end of 2021, Crowfall was sold to a new studio. In November 2022, it decided to take the servers offline, as it could not guarantee simultaneous live operation and the development of new content. The future remains uncertain:
MMORPG Crowfall seeks to reinvent itself after a weak start – Takes servers offline completely
TitanReach – Crowdfunding of at least $206,000
What made the game so interesting? TitanReach aimed to be a modern version of the classic RuneScape. It promised a large game world where professions like fishing, smithing, and the economy in general would play a significant role.
The twist of the game was that although there are many skills, you can only use 5 of them in combat. This was intended to provide a special tactical component. Otherwise, the MMORPG relied on:
- A large game world full of quests
- A variety of skills and free choice in weapons and armors. There were no fixed classes.
- Dungeons and raids in the endgame
- Open PvP in certain zones, where you could even lose a complete set of equipment
In August 2021, the MMORPG launched a free early access version. This was meant to attract players who would pay for later access to alpha and beta.
YouTuber TheLazyPeon took a closer look at the MMORPG in 2021:
How much did it raise? In the first 16 hours, it managed to raise over $50,000 on Kickstarter. However, the month-long campaign significantly missed its target. Instead of the hoped-for $363,745, only $114,971 were raised.
However, the developers offered game accesses for upcoming alpha and beta tests, through which a total of $206,419 was raised.
What did it fail on? Funding. In August 2021, the developers announced that development would be temporarily put on hold. It was to continue as a hobby project, but without the 14 employees who had previously worked on it. But then it got bizarre.
In September 2021, the CEO announced that he had found an investor. The secret source of money was supposed to be “very generous” and had promised full funding for the project. However, this ultimately did not materialize at the last moment.
In a final post, the CEO stated that he would have liked to turn TitanReach into an NFT and crypto MMORPG. He had withheld this information until the end because he knew that many fans would not have liked it. Subsequently, the official website and Discord server were shut down.
Legends of Aria – Crowdfunding of at least $105,000
What made the game so interesting? Legends of Aria was originally announced as Shards Online and was intended to be a sort of successor to Ultima Online:
- The game world was supposed to be a huge sandbox. Players should be able to play as crafters, merchants, or even tavern owners.
- Housing should be possible all over the world.
- Characters should develop through skills.
- The economy of the game world should be determined by the players themselves.
- Exploring the world should be dangerous. Not only because of monsters but also due to the PvP, which should be possible almost anywhere.
- Players should determine how the world develops.
Additionally, the MMORPG relied on an iso perspective, just like in Ultima Online or in the modern Lost Ark.
Another unique feature was the “private shards”. So, if you did not want to play on an official server, you could set up your own – with its own rules.
How much did it raise? Shards Online received over $105,000 through a Kickstarter campaign. Additional backer and pre-order packages followed, as did the final launch on Steam. The total revenue is likely to be significantly higher.
What did it fail on? Legends of Aria was already a niche MMORPG at release. It launched as a buy-to-play title and managed only 1,170 concurrent players at peak on Steam. In December 2019, a switch to a free-to-play model followed, but that did not lead to a revival either.
In 2021, Aria 2.0 was announced. This was to offer a new engine, a new skill system, mount combat, and a swimming function. However, the old Legends of Aria was supposed to remain for fans.
In 2022, the situation looked even worse. The MMORPG was sold to a new studio that focuses on NFTs and “metaverse”. According to SteamDB, no more than 8 players logged into Legends of Aria concurrently in the last 14 days. The game is generally considered dead.
