Kickstarter’s games continued to flourish this year, with tabletop games – including board games, role-playing games, and game accessories – leading the way on the crowdfunding platform. Video games were also on the rise, with two Japanese games earning more than any other in this category.
Successful tabletop games and accessories campaigns earned more than $ 233 million in 2020, up from $ 176.3 million in 2019 – an increase of more than 32%. Despite the ongoing global pandemic, fans of hobby games showed up for Frosthaven, the sequel to the hit dungeon crawler Gloomhaven. Isaac Childres surpassed the 2016 reprint Kingdom death: monsters by making just under $ 12.97 million in his campaign. The final product is expected to be delivered in March 2021.
Massachusetts-based Wyrmwood Gaming surprised many by breathing life into the high-end gaming furniture market freed by Geek Chic, which went out of business in 2017. The Kickstarter modular gaming table campaign was the second most funded tabletop campaign of the year, earning more than $ 8.8 million. Tables are already in production, but most are expected to be shipped in 2021 CEO Doug Costello resigns following employee complaints.
Most funded tabletop Kickstarter, 2020
| Surname | Creator | Funds raised | supporter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | Creator | Funds raised | supporter |
| Frosthaven | Isaac Childres | $ 12,969,608 | 83.193 |
| Wyrmwood Modular Table | Wyrmwood Gaming | $ 8,808,136 | 7.713 |
| Nemesis lockdown | Rich rich | £ 5,174,153 (approximately $ 6.9 million) | 41,907 |
| Darkest Dungeon the board game | Mythical games | $ 5,657,479 | 28,842 |
| Return to the Dark Tower | Restoration games | $ 4,054,744 | 23,661 |
| Wildlands by Dwarven Forge | Dwarf Forge | $ 4,005,183 | 3.526 |
| The 7th citadel | Serious Poulp | 3,289,904 $ (approx. 4 million USD) | 33,353 |
| Massive Darkness 2: Hell landscape | COME ON | $ 3,813,274 | 21,763 |
| Ankh: gods of Egypt | COME ON | $ 3,320,196 | 23,386 |
| Colored custom thumbnails with Hero Forge 2.0 | Heroes forge | $ 3,106,660 | 39.167 |
Meanwhile, video games have come back to life after years of anemic growth. Luke Crane, Vice President of Community at Kickstarter, attributes this to continued contact with Japanese creators.
“We are determined to continue developing Japan,” said Crane Polygon in an interview. “The culture of asking for money in Japan […] because a creative project is very different from here. We have worked with the communities there, trying to understand what they need to be comfortable and also trying to build partnerships [in that country]. ”
Most Funded Video Game Kickstarter, 2020
| Surname | Creator | Funds raised | supporter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | Creator | Funds raised | supporter |
| Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes | Rabbit & Bear Studios | 481,621,841 ¥ (approximately $ 4.6 million) | 46,307 |
| The Wonderful 101: Remastered | Platinum games | 235,320,528 ¥ (approximately $ 2.3 million) | 33.199 |
| Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous | Owlcat games | $ 2,054,339 | 35.092 |
| Sea of stars | sabotage | CA $ 1,628,126 (approximately $ 1.26 million) | 25,589 |
| Related fates | Skymill Studios | $ 685,769 | 10,876 |
| My time at Sandrock | Pathea games | $ 524,770 | 9,915 |
| Venus Blood Hollow | Ninetail | 37,663,844 ¥ (approximately $ 363,000) | 1.537 |
| Kick-off in 2022 | 2tainment | $ 246,496 (approximately $ 300,000) | 3.888 |
| Curse of the sea rats | Petoons Studio | $ 242,395 (approximately $ 295,000) | 5,958 |
| The ultimate belief | Kumi Souls Games | £ 210,075 (approximately $ 280,000) | 4.053 |
Two top-class campaigns from Japan took first and second place overall in the video games category. The first, Eiyuden Chronicle: A Hundred HeroesThe aim is to deliver a classic Japanese-style RPG by the end of 2022. This campaign, a spiritual successor to Konami’s Suikoden series, raised the equivalent of $ 4.6 million in August. The Wonderful 101: Remastered – which has been lauded here on Polygon and other publications – was also funded and released this year with nearly $ 2.3 million from Kickstarter backers.
For 2021, Crane said his organization sees Europe as yet another growth market. He cited Kickstarter’s recent launch in Poland as something to watch out for fans of tabletop and video games. He hopes for the financial success of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 could inspire more Polish creatives to bring their work to the Kickstarter platform.
