Kickstarter Releases Year in Review Statistics
What was the most successful video game Kickstarter campaign of 2014? The answer will surprise you.
According to Kickstarter's year in review statistics, roughly $89.1 million was pledged for game-based campaigns. It is likely that this category included all kinds of games, such as video games, board games, card games, etc. The only other related field listed would be film and video-based campaigns, which received $66.4 million in pledges. Toys and action figure were not included in Kickstarter's statistics, but could have been filed under games or crafts. For those wondering, the most successful Kickstarter campaign of 2014 was Reading Rainbow.
Big projects like The Black Glove, which was made by former members of BioShock's Irrational Games, never came close to finishing their crowdfunding campaigns. Other games, such as the spiritual successor to Maniac Mansion, Thimbleweed Park, did extremely well. In 2013, Mighty No. 9's Kickstarter reached nearly $3.9 million with a goal of only $900,000. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is recognized as Kickstarter's most successful game campaign of 2014, raising $1.6 million with a campaign goal of roughly $450,000.
Overall, video game-based campaign pledges are still on the decline. Many projects that were previously backed by fans on Kickstarter have yet to be released and a number of finished campaigns were cancelled entirely (cough Yogventures cough) or have yet to deliver, so people were reluctant to donate in 2014.
Hopefully 2015 provides even more growth for the crowdfunded areas of the video game industry.