Top Video Game Kickstarter FAILS | MojoPlays

#10: “Aura Tactics” (TBA)

“Aura Tactics” was created by Douglas Miller and promised to be a tactical RPG with “class swapping and asynchronous multiplayer.” After initially asking for $5,000, over 800 backers pledged nearly double that, totalling just over $11,500. After an update in January 2013 promising continued work, the team went radio silent, and many backers were left with numerous questions. That is, until Doug left a comment explaining that his team had been laid off from their jobs and were too busy looking for new work. He stressed that the game was not cancelled, but even now, four years later, it’s still MIA – leaving backers completely in the dark.

#9: “Rival Threads: Last Class Heroes” (TBA)

“Last Class Heroes” looked to be a promising game – it was advertised as an “action RPG featuring stunning 2D visuals,” and to their credit, the visuals did look pretty darn good. Over 680 backers raised nearly $25,000 for the project, but in April of 2014, an update was released declaring that the game was temporarily put on hold due to “complications.” And by “temporarily put on hold,” we think they meant dead, because there has been nuthin’ since. When reached out for comment by Kotaku, developer Leonardo Molar declared that the project became too ambitious for its own good but that it was still coming. Well, we’re still waiting…

#8: “Unwritten: That Which Happened” (TBA)

That which happened apparently doesn’t include this game. The dev team asked for an astounding $75,000 for the development of this randomly generated world about a tribe traveling to meet its God. And, surprisingly, this goal was met, with over 2,000 backers raising $78,000. However, one of its developers ran into significant family health issues, and the project was put on hold as his time and energy were put into his family. While this is certainly understandable, backers are disappointed. The project is supposedly still in slow development.

#7: “Moon Rift” (TBA)

Look, if you cancel a game, whatever, we’ll get over it. But, please, at least TELL us that you’re cancelling the game! This retro-looking, randomly generated platform shooter was created by Sam Hutcher, and 500 backers helped raise just over $8,000 for it, $2,000 over its asking goal. Too bad the last update was in October 2013. In that time, an entirely new generation of consoles and games have been released. There have been no new updates regarding the development of the game, and the creator has all but disappeared off the face of the Earth.

#6: “Unsung Story” (TBA)

“Unsung Story” was set to be the spiritual successor to “Final Fantasy Tactics’” with Yasumi Matsuno at the helm and a massive Kickstarter goal of $600,000. The game was originally announced alongside a digital card game, but when that was never mentioned again and fans began to grow suspicious. On September 2015 after numerous delays, it was announced that the game would now be an Online PvP game, going against the single player experienced originally promised to backers. But Ultimately on August 2017, Playdek announced that it had abandoned “Unsung Story” (and took the money with them). Luckily, another developer, Little Orbot took over the project. Unluckily, they need to start from scratch. Yeah, we don’t think we’re ever going to see this one.

#5: “Shadow of the Eternals” (TBA)

“Shadow of the Eternals” was poised to be a spiritual successor to the Gamecube cult favourite “Eternal Darkness.” And was being helmed by its original director Denis Dyack. Thing is, Dyack had being previously embroiled in a scandal involving the mismanagement of “X-men Destiny”, which ultimately lead to his previous company Silicon Knight’s filing for Bankruptcy, so backers were understandably hesitant. The first campaign raised only $284,000, falling well short of its $1.5 million target. After re-launching with a more modest goal of $750,000, the campaign again fell on its face when it raised only half that amount. Just goes to show that when it comes to Kickstarter, you’d better have a good reputation.

#4: “Godus” (2013)

Good old Peter Molyneux. At least he’s always good for some drama. “Godus” launched on Kickstarter in 2012, complete with promises of “a living world” and a significant multiplayer component. The project amassed large amounts of attention, and it went on to accumulate over $700,000. Unfortunately for those backers, “Godus” was an enormous disappointment upon release, as the gameplay was fundamentally different and the focus seemed to be put on its mobile release - which in itself was garbage, full of cliché mobile game tropes and microtransactions. In the end, it was a huge mess, full of broken promises.

#3: “Clang” (Cancelled)

“Clang” had enormous amounts of promise. Too bad it amounted to an enormous amounts of regret. Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson took to Kickstarter to back his new project, a video game centered around realistic sword fighting. The project had OVER 9,000 backers behind it, who pledged a total of $526,000. However, after some initial disappointment regarding its delays, Stephenson announced its cancellation in September 2014, claiming insufficient funds and significant personal financial loss. Many people were left upset and without refunds, and many pledged to never back another Kickstarter project again!

#2: “Yogventures!” (Cancelled)

“Yogventures!” was set to be an open world game with the likenesses of the popular YouTube channel YOGSCAST Lewis & Simon, a gaming channel devoted to “Minecraft,” “World of Warcraft,” and ‘Grand Theft Auto,” among others. Due to their dedicated fan base, a ridiculous $567,000 was raised for the development of their video game, a video game which (surprise) never came to fruition. The project was abruptly cancelled in July 2014, and backers were given access to a different game called TUG instead of a refund.

#1: “The Stomping Land” (2014)

Of all the titles on this list, “The Stomping Land” had perhaps the most ambition and promise. The game was set to be multiplayer-oriented survival game set in a world where humans and dinosaurs co-exist. It was an original concept, and many people seemed to be on board, as over 4,000 backers raised $114,000 to bring it to life. After being released through Steam Early Access in 2014, creator Alex Fundora was abducted by aliens or something, because all communication with him abruptly ended. The game’s 3D character artist was then forced to quit after his messages to Fundora went unanswered.