It’s no secret that Kickstarter is an awesome place to launch a tabletop game, but what about their digital counterparts?
Kickstarter has a thriving video game community as well, with some projects raising in excess of 6 million dollars from the crowd!
Talk about making a splash.
If you’re looking to launch your own Kickstarter video game, learning from those who have come before you is one of the best ways to get ahead of the pack.
In this article, we’re taking a look at some of the best Kickstarter video game projects of all time, and investigating what made them so successful.
Let’s discover some digital masterpieces and what you can learn from their successes!
Shenmue 3
If you raise the most money in the history of Kickstarter for a video game, you get automatic dibs for the top of the list, right?
The third installment of Ys Net’s Shenmue series was long anticipated by lovers of the game, making it no surprise that nearly 70,000 backers showed out to raise in excess of $6.3 million dollars.
Shenmue was first released in 1999 and has been gaining momentum ever since. Following the story of Ryo Hazuki on his journey from Japan to China on a quest to avenge his father, much of its success can be attributed to a truly outstanding product.
Between realism, an immersive story, and awesome QTE, Shenmue is a one-of-a-kind experience that keeps its players coming back.
While the creators did almost everything right to create a Kickstarter campaign page that actually converts, they relied heavily on an existing base to create hype around the product.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
This exploration-focused, side-scrolling game featuring RPG and crafting elements blew past its $500,000 fundraising goal, raising almost $5.5 million from over 64,000 backers. 
One of the best features of Bloodstained’s campaign page was their Kickstarter video.
And that’s a good thing because the video is the most important part of any campaign.
That’s because the video is the first thing potential backers encounter when they reach your campaign page. Your video should:
- Provoke emotion
- Show the use case
- Tell a great story
- Be about 3 minutes long
- Have a commanding thumbnail image
By enticing potential backers with their killer video, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was able to attract long-time supporters of the game as well as people discovering it for the very first time.
Double Fine Adventure
Double Fine Adventure is an older Kickstarter video game, launching in 2012.
However, Double Fine Adventure still holds the record for most backers supporting a video game project at 87,142 donors. That’s a big crowd.
They reached their funding goal of $400,000 in just eight hours, eventually tallying over $3.3 million in support.
Pretty incredible, huh?
While Double Fine adventure wasn’t the most expensive product out there, the team was able to offer unique, must-have rewards that made their backers feel like they were gaining insider access.
47,000 people donated to the basic $15 package, which gave them complete access to the game.
That means that almost half (40,000+) of the other backers chose a higher reward tier based on incentives. Incredibly, over 100 people donated more than $1,000 to the game, with four backers donating $10,000 for perks like:
- Lunch with the creators
- A Tour of the Double Fine Offices
- Mini portraits of backers themselves from games artist
- Large original paintings of artwork used in-game
They got creative with their reward tiers, and it paid off. Not a bad idea to emulate!
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Torment: Tides of Numenera was born in Newport Beach, California by inXile entertainment.
A story-driven CRPG set in the world of Monte Cooke’s Numenera, the campaign raked in over $4 million from nearly $75,000 backers to blow past their $900,000 goal.
You’ll notice that most successful video games far exceed their funding goal, which is by design.
When setting your funding goal, you want to set it as low as possible. It will have to be high enough to ensure that you can deliver all the promises you are offering, but low enough that it can be reached as quickly as possible in order to trend on Kickstarter’s platform and gain more exposure.
For more information on setting your fundraising goal, check out this article where I break it down for you in-depth.
Who knows, if you play your cards right, you could end up as successful as Torment: Tides of Numenera!
Subverse
Subverse is a especially interesting Kickstarter video game because it pushes the boundaries of what content can actually garner support on the platform.
Subverse is a kinky Sci-Fi RPG mashup where players can “explore a wacky galaxy full of hot alien babes.”
While this game is definitely unique, and perhaps off-putting for some people, FOW Interactive knew their target audience and went after it hard.
Check out this excerpt from the campaign text, which introduces the product:
Clearly, the creators of Subverse weren’t worried about those who might find that kind of marketing to be offensive.
Instead, they went after the people that would find it to be funny and engaging. This kind of copy provokes interest and encourages potential backers to keep exploring the product, which is always a good thing.
For your video game, make sure you put some thought into what types of marketing materials—text, videos, images, gifs, etc.—are most likely to excite your audience.
Forget about the haters! You never needed them anyway.
Conclusions
Kickstarter is an awesome platform to get funding for video games.
With tons of projects pulling in millions of dollars, it’s clear that there is a thriving gaming community looking for the next greatest innovation.
If you’re looking to launch a video game on Kickstarter, learning from the campaigns listed above is vital to your success.
And by the way—you should feel free to copy and emulate the elements that make these campaigns successful. That’s how most great projects are born!
Are you looking to get started on your dream project?
I’ve helped tons of entrepreneurs just like you launch successful campaigns that get funded, and the gaming niche is one of my specialties.
I’ve helped campaigns like iiRcade gather over $660,000 dollars in funding, and your project could be next.
Book a coaching call with me today to get started—I’d love to help you out!
