Loftia is a new MMORPG that roughly resembles Palia, but focuses even more on the multiplayer aspect. Up to 150 players are supposed to fit on one map and help their city with major projects like a metro. They aimed to raise at least $150,000 on Kickstarter, but they significantly exceeded that goal.
What kind of game is it? Loftia is a so-called Cozy-MMO and aims to take the stress out of the gaming experience. You enter a game world without combat, but can learn various crafting disciplines and participate in numerous mini-games.
- Important elements include farming, cooking, fishing, housing, and raising pets.
- However, you can also take on small jobs, such as a waiter in a café, an employee in a flower shop, or as a hairdresser. There you should be able to complete mini-games.
- The game completely dispenses with a combat system, but there are supposed to be dungeons and raids. This is content for 3 to 10 players, where you have to master instanced challenges. As examples, the developers mention It Takes Two, Fall Guys, and the shrines from the latest The Legend of Zelda.
- You enter a colorful “Solarpunk” game world with your character, where renewable energies play an important role.
- Players can organize themselves into guilds – called clubs. There will even be club housing.
- Cosmetics and personal appearance play an important role.
The developers also describe it as the perfect game for couples or friends who live far apart. Everything should be doable in co-op, even for decorating your own house, you can invite a partner who gets the same rights.
How is the development going so far? Mic, the founder of Loftia, started the game in early 2022 as a hobby project. She herself raided hardcore in WoW and other MMORPGs but wanted a balance to that.
Since July 2022, the team has grown from 5 to over 20 developers. They wanted to raise more money through Kickstarter. The campaign ran until September 1.
Players unlock all bonus goals that the developers could think of
What was the goal of the campaign? The developers wanted to raise at least $150,000 through Kickstarter to realize their game. Experience shows that this is not enough to ensure full development.
However, the fans went significantly further and donated over $1.2 million. In doing so, they unlocked all additional rewards, including an aquarium system, club housing, and more islands to explore.
More goals than up to one million dollars were not even intended by the developers. Nevertheless, the community donated a lot more.
The revenues from Kickstarter alone will probably still not be enough to fully finance Loftia. This is shown, for example, by the MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria, which revealed how quickly the 7 million dollars from crowdfunding were spent.
When will the game be released? There is no official release date yet. However, it states on Kickstarter that backers with an alpha key should receive access in 2024, while early access is planned for 2025.
For which platforms will Loftia be released? It is planned for PC (Steam), Mac, and Nintendo Switch. The languages listed are English, German, Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese. The developers have set high goals.
What do you think about Loftia? Does the concept appeal to you? And which contents do you find good and where do you see gaps?
In general, Loftia resembles the Cozy-MMO Palia, which has been playable in open beta for several weeks. More on this here: New MMORPG is completely free of combat, yet successful – now free to play.
