Top 10 Kickstarter Games Of All-Time

Shenmue 3

Shenmue 3, the third game in the Shenmue series, was finally released on PC and PS4 by Deep Silver. It got a huge $6,333,295 in crowdfunding support from 69,320 fans. This is an action-adventure show that has been going since 1999.

Backers could give anywhere from $5 to $10,000. For $10,000, you could either become a real NPC in the game or get a copy jacket and a dinner in Los Angeles with Japanese game designer Yu Suzuki.

Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a side-scrolling platformer with RPG and crafting features that was based on other “Igavania” games. It had 64,867 backers who joined together to raise an amazing $5,545,991.

People who backed the project put in anywhere from $5 to $3,000. With that much money, you could turn one of your pets into an enemy in the game. Because it cost so much, only five lucky backers were able to “digitize” their pet friends and add them to the game.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

With a traditional party-based, turn-based JRPG battle system and the option to build a “fortress town,” Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was able to get 46,307 backers and raise ¥481,621,841. That’s about $3.3 million in US dollars.

The Kickstarter reached all of its goals, with backers giving anywhere from ¥4,000 to ¥500,000. Backers who put in the most money got a lot of cool stuff, like t-shirts, art books, vinyl music, beta access, special Discord roles, and even the chance to add their own cat to the game.

Torment: Tides Of Numenera

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a story-driven CRPG that came out on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It had 74,405 backers. People put anywhere from $5 to $500 into this Kickstarter project, which raised just over $4 million.

With a goal of $900,000, backers were able to get the team working on the game to add more features. Some of these features were: more depth for companions, a story that was deeper and more complicated than planned, and even an extra big city.

Pillars Of Eternity

Pillars of Eternity, which was first called Project Eternity, is an isometric role-playing game set in a fantasy world that is played with a group of people. The game was made by Obsidian Entertainment, and it was finally released thanks to the contributions of 73,986 backers who gave a total of almost $4 million.

The “Ultimate Pledge Pack,” which cost $10,000, was the most that backers could give. The five backers who could afford this ultimate package got a lot of physical items and downloadable material. They also got to see Obsidian’s office in person and play a board game with staff members from the company.

Mighty No. 9

67,226 backers raised a total of $3,845,170 to make Keiji Inafune’s dream come true. The game was called a classic Japanese side-scrolling game. Backers who gave the most money got clothing, concept art, 3D-printed boss models, and even a dinner with Inafune in Tokyo.

Like Pillars of Eternity, the initial goal was $900,000. Extra characters and online, co-op challenge modes were nice bonuses, but the most interesting thing about the game has to be how many times it has been ported to different platforms, like the PS Vita, 3DS, PS4, and more.

Double Fine Adventure

Tim Schafer was in charge of making Double Fine Adventure, a pretty cool point-and-click adventure game with video features. The first goal of $400,000 was met in just eight hours, and with the help of 87,142 backers, the overall amount raised reached $3,336,371.

The gameplay is very new and different from most games you’ve probably played. But what I found most interesting was how the studio chose to keep the whole development process open to the public by regularly posting “behind the scenes” videos.

Ashes Of Creation

Ashes of Creation is a high-fantasy, open-world MMORPG that raised an impressive $3.2 million with the help of only 19,576 backers, which is a much smaller number than the average. The highest pledge was $455. Even though the Kickstarter hasn’t been updated in years, the game is still being tested now and then.

The original goal was $750,000, but more than that was raised. This extra money was used to add minigames to the parlor, more mounts, special weapon skins and skill effects only for backers, more material for the navy, and even a new, more complex economic system.

Yooka-Laylee

Playtonic Games made Yooka-Laylee, which has been called a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie games and 8 Ball Pool. 73,206 people backed the Kickstarter, which raised just over £2.08 million, or about $2.6 million.

The game is set up like a current platformer, but it’s meant to make you miss games like this from the N64 era. You play as a cute lizard and bat team, exploring different levels, looking for rewards, and using different skills to beat enemies.

Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 is a post-apocalyptic RPG that went straight to the top of the Steam sales charts after being backed by over 61,000 people. Even though the original goal was $900,000, the Kickstarter raised almost $3 million. Maybe all the extra pledges sped up the development of the game to a whole new level.

One of the most touching things about Kickstarter is that the founder of Interplay Productions, Brian Fargo, knew that the whole thing would cost a million dollars. In any case, the total goal for funding was set at $900,000 because he was ready to pay the last $100,000 himself.