Only 25% of gaming projects on Kickstarter reach funding goal

While some projects, like Shadowrun Returns and Wasteland 2, have managed to earn over a million, a majority of listings on the service won't meet their demands.

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Tim Schafer and Double Fine made headlines when their crowd-funded adventure game managed to receive $3.3 million of pledges. It is the second largest Kickstarter project ever, only eclipsed by Pebble--an e-paper watch that has generated $7 million in pledges.

Since then, many have attempted to capitalize on Kickstarter. While some projects, like Shadowrun Returns and Wasteland 2, have managed to earn over a million, a majority of listings on the service won't meet their demands.

According to data received by Kotaku, only 25% of video game projects reach their funding goals. Other projects offered on Kickstarter, such as design, comics, and technology are far more likely to reach their goals--with 45% of all projects securing funding.

The high rate of failure could be attributed to the high cost of developing games. The average funding for successful gaming projects is $26,910, according to data acquired by The New York Times. That is much more than movies ($8,236), music ($5,140), or comics ($8,382).

In spite of the attention the service has received, Kickstarter is no certain way of receiving funding for aspiring game creators. And with even more creators vying for crowdsourced funds, it's likely to become even more difficult for new projects to reach their goals.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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  • reply
    May 1, 2012 4:15 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Only 25% of gaming projects on Kickstarter reach funding goal.

    While some projects, like Shadowrun Returns and Wasteland 2, have managed to earn over a million, a majority of listings on the service won't meet their demands.

    • reply
      May 1, 2012 5:51 PM

      Yogventures met theirs and still a few days to go. Whatever you think of the Yogcast folks the alpha stuff looks nice,

    • reply
      May 1, 2012 5:56 PM

      Good, most of them don't deserve to be funded. Plus they all launched at the same time which was stupid. I am excited about a few of the ones that did get their funding though.

      • reply
        May 1, 2012 6:28 PM

        "They all launched at the same time"? Look at the chart -- this data goes back to 2009.

    • reply
      May 1, 2012 6:13 PM

      i wouldnt say "only" 25%. while it isnt the majority, its a good portion. who doesnt want 25% more good games to play? i threw in on grim dawn last week, it should be hitting 100% soon hopefully.

    • reply
      May 1, 2012 6:23 PM

      [deleted]

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