The new crowdfunding campaign for the upcoming online role-playing game Shroud of the Avatar has caused quite a stir. Among other things, because people who invest in the company can receive a golden castle for $30,000.
Developing computer games costs a lot of money. Although more than $11.6 million has already been raised for Shroud of the Avatar through crowdfunding, only about $500,000 is currently left. This is evident from the new crowdfunding campaign for Seed Invest, through which the development studio Portalarium aims to raise $2 million through investments in the company to complete the RPG.
$30,000 for an in-game castle …
As a “Backer” of the new campaign, you will receive special in-game items. These include a golden cloak for $500 or a golden in-game castle for $30,000. Portalarium makes no guarantees that the company will be successful in the long term or that profits will be generated. Investing in the company is therefore associated with a certain risk. Nevertheless, there are already some from the community who rave in the official forum about wanting to invest in the development studio.
Richard Garriott, founder of Portalarium, stated that the crowdfunding campaign is not aimed at saving the company – which one might reasonably suspect given the current financial situation. Rather, Portalarium wants to transition from a development studio to a publisher and needs new capital for this.
However, dark clouds are currently gathering over the company and the game. The description of Shroud of the Avatar on the Seed Invest website has led to a shitstorm that the company is currently facing on various platforms.
For in the description, it states that there are decisions with consequences and that players can open trade routes and conquer cities – none of that is present in the game. Garriott tried to explain that certain features, such as capture points in the world, can be interpreted as city conquests, even if they are not cities at all.
Many fans are furious
However, the community is showing dissatisfaction and anger. There have even been calls to take the new crowdfunding campaign offline. Currently, attempts to placate a large part of the community are falling on deaf ears. Technical Director Chris Spears, who recently fell out with the MMORPG.com community, wanted to provide clarification on Reddit, which ended in a medium-sized catastrophe and insults.
Currently, Shroud of the Avatar is not under a good star. However, some fans are defending the game with all their might and proudly holding the flag high. In the end, we can only hope that Shroud of the Avatar can be successful despite all the criticism beforehand and all the controversial issues surrounding the development.
