The role-playing game Darkest Dungeon has thousands of players on Steam. A company has planned a very successful board game version through a Kickstarter project, which will be released soon. However, due to complications, additional costs are occurring, which the backers who have already paid are now expected to cover.
This is the dispute:
- Mythic Games has offered an official board game spin-off of the adventure RPG Darkest Dungeon.
- The game will not be available in stores, but can only be obtained through Kickstarter if you support its development.
- After a very successful campaign, the creators are now asking for more money from the backers. They feel “robbed in broad daylight” or “extorted”.
Kickstarter operates via “crowdfunding,” which can certainly go wrong, as shown by 4 failed MMORPGs:
What kind of project is this? Darkest Dungeon: The Board Game brings the popular RPG to the home table. The cooperative board game is designed for 1-4 players and is expected to function similarly to the video game.
You help the heir of an old estate rebuild his family seat while having to fight monsters and eliminate villains. The game is a classic dungeon crawler and comes with miniatures of the heroes from the video game, cards, and even expansions.
The original goal of the Kickstarter campaign was only $300,000 (around €293,700). However, 28,842 backers ensured that nearly €4.9 million was raised. Now they are expected to reach into their pockets again.
Board games offer many a welcome change from cooperative video games:
Developers complain about significant additional manufacturing and shipping costs
Why are there additional costs? As Mythic Games explains in a statement, the prices for raw materials and shipping have increased significantly since the start of the campaign – up to 600% it is said. The reasons are Covid-19 and also the war in Ukraine.
Additional costs amount to over €1.7 million. Half of that will be covered by Mythic Games in cooperation with Darkest Dungeon creator Red Hook. The other half is to be contributed by the backers.
The amount of participation depends on the size of the purchased set. Those who only bought the core set are expected to pay an additional €17.62. If some additional options were chosen, about €28.39 will be added.
Refunds problematic – Kickstarter warns of risks
This is how backers are reacting: Fans who have already paid are outraged by the approach. They feel “robbed,” as stated in a comment. Others believe the practice is “shabby.” A user on reddit cannot understand why buyers should bear the costs:
In any other industry that comes to mind, the financial risk falls on the company providing the product. This risk is weighed against the potential financial gain of bringing the product to market.
Usually, this works in favor of the company […] but sometimes it does not. I do not understand why the additional costs should be my problem. Everyone is suffering from the [situation] right now.
Doc_Serious on reddit
However, there are indeed voices that support Mythic Games and are willing to bear the additional costs to keep their game. At the same time, some people are trying to get their money back – which is not so easy.
This is what Kickstarter says about it: According to the official rules of Kickstarter, providers are only required to deliver the work as promised and address concerns. However, backers are also held accountable.
They are reminded that when supporting a project on Kickstarter, they take on a risk: “Kickstarter is not a store. When you support a project, you are helping to create something new – you are not buying something that already exists.”
Since Kickstarter does not offer refunds, one should think carefully and research what kind of projects to invest in beforehand.
There are also problems with games and refunds in other areas:
Over 200,000 players want their money back for Battlefield 2042 – ‘We were lied to!’
