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With game development being so expensive, Kickstarter RPGs are some of the most successful projects on the platform. We're going to look at 10 successful Kickstarter RPGs that have gone on to be 100% funded, released on Steam and generated thousands in revenue, some even by small indie developers.
When you're an Indie Developer with limited resources, funding your dream game can seem like a daunting task. Kickstarter is one of the ways that you can help raise funds from fans who want to see your game become reality.
Kickstarter is a crowd-funding platform that allows individuals, companies and small indie developers to launch projects that they wish to secure funding. The backers, who are normal users like you and I, can decide to part with their cash to help fund the project, usually in exchange for "backer rewards".
Kickstarter funds anything from board games to brand new physical products and it really is a rabbit hole you can get lost in. It is also a platform that many people take seriously; a successful Kickstarter Campaign can take months to put together and for every successful project that gets funded, there are hundreds that don't make it.
For indie developers, it's a great platform to get validation for your idea and also raise funds that you need to complete your game. Many Kickstarter projects have a funding goal, but many projects go on to break that goal and raise even more money.
Now that you have a quick overview of the Kickstarter Platform, let's look at some of the most successful projects when it comes to Kickstarter RPGs.
Kickstarter RPGs
Sea Of Stars Kickstarter
Goal: $133,000 CAD (~ $100,000 USD)
Raised: $1,628,126 CAD (~$1,202,330 USD)
Type: Small Studio (Sabotage Games)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2020 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2023
We covered this game on our blog, with a Sea Of Stars Complete Walkthrough and at the time of release had no idea it had been through Kickstarter.
And yes, you read right: it raised over $1.2 million during it's Kickstarter campaign despite only requiring a $100,000 goal to fund the game. It was funded in just 7 hours of the Kickstarter Campaign being released
The game was already well in-development during the Kickstarter Campaign and was able to show off plenty of in-game footage for fans to get a good idea of what this game was going to be about.
During the 3 years between Kickstarter to release, they posted plenty of updates on their page, showing off progress to their backers.
One of the main rewards for backing was being able to get a custom statue in an area called The Crypt. If you ever play the game, the area is absolutely huge with all the backers who got custom art.
So how did the game fair post-release?
It scored an 87 on Metacritic, played by over 5,000,000 people and won best independent game award at The Game Awards. It has over 7,000 Overwhelming Positive Reviews on Steam!
The game was made by Sabotage Games, which is a small game studio in Canada. They have history with game development, having released The Messenger before Sea Of Stars.
Rugged Kingdom - RPG Game
Goal: £2,000 (~$2500 USD)
Raised: £2703 (~$3000 USD)
Type: Indie Developer
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2013 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2014
Let's switch it up- it's not only massive games that can be funded on Kickstarter. Rugged Kingdom is an old-school JRPG developed by a single person and was able to raise close to $3000 to fund it.
The game went on to be released a year later, but it looks like it's no longer available so we can't check how well it did!
There Is No Light - Pixel RPG Game
Goal: $30,000
Raised: $71,386
Type: Studio (HypeTrainDigital)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2020 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2021
There Is No Light is a pixel RPG game that managed to raise more than double it's goal and had over 50% funded in the first day! The game was also ported to PS4 and Nintendo Switch, with backers getting keys to download the game.
The game released on Steam currently has 448 reviews with a Mostly Positive rating. Steam Revenue Calculators estimate the game to have generated around $100k based on it's review count.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Goal: $300,000
Raised: $2,054,339
Type: Studio (Owlcat Games)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2020 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2021
Another huge Kickstarter Campaign that smashed their goal and managed to raise millions of dollars! Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous had ambitious Kickstarter Rewards for backing it, including plenty of physical items that they are still in the process of shipping!
Luckily, the game was released in 2021 after many Alpha and Beta stages that helped shape the game. Kickstarter also serves as a great way to build your game with the feedback from passionate fans and supporters over time.
The game was released on Steam with over 24,000 positive reviews, making it a hugely successful game. There is also plenty of DLC that you can buy as extra.
Moon Hunters - Pixel RPG
Goal: $45,000 CAD (~$33,000)
Raised: $178,986 CAD (~$131,000)
Type: Studio (Kitfox Games)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2014 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2016
Another Pixel RPG backed to the tune of $100K+ is Moon Hunters, developed by studio Kitfox Games. At the time of the Kickstarter, Kitfox already had previous with another game (Shattered Planet) and were using the Kickstarter to help promote the game since it had a lot of production already.
The game went on to be ported for Xbox, PS4 and Nintendo Switch all thanks to Stretch Goals they targeted with the Kickstarter.
On Steam, Moon Hunters went on to do really well, with over 4000 positive reviews to date. That gives it an estimated revenue of $1million+!
Toasty: Ashes Of Dusk
Goal: $25,000 USD
Raised: $105,536 USD
Type: Studio (Pocket Llama)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2022 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: Not Launched
Toasty: Ashes Of Dusk hasn't yet launched at the time of writing this but it did have a super successful Kickstarter Campaign for it's pixel top-down RPG. It managed to raise over 4x it's goal with backers being promised physical merch as part of the campaign.
Whilst the game hasn't come out 2 years later, it is still being updated via it's Kickstarter Campaign, with plenty of game previews.
Hopefully when it does release, it is as successful as the campaign!
My Time at Sandrock
Goal: $100,000 USD
Raised: $524,770 USD
Type: Studio (Pathea Games)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2020 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2023
My Time At Sandrock launched to critical acclaim after raising over half a million dollars for it's Kickstarter Campaign. It managed to score 80 on Metacritic, score over 19,000+ reviews on Steam and it's still releasing DLC content to keep the game fresh today.
Their Campaign rewards consisted of digital keys, physical merch and signed copies of art from the developers!
Re:Legend - Co-op Monster Raising RPG
Goal: S$70,000 SGD (~$50,000 USD)
Raised: $630,700 SGD (~$467,256 USD)
Type: 6-person team (Magnus Games)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2017 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2019
Re:Legend was funded in 2017 and went on to have an early-release in 2019. It was received with Mixed Reviews, but the developers have since released a polished 1.0 update in 2022 to help fix bugs and correct the early version mishaps.
Still, it managed to garner over 1000+ reviews on Steam, giving it revenue estimates of $600,000+.
Chained Echoes - JRPG
Goal: €60,000 (~$64,000 USD)
Raised: €130,409 (~$140000 USD)
Type: 2-person team
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2019 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: 2022
So far we've seen decent size game studios fund their RPG projects on Kickstarter. Well, Chained Echoes is made by a two person team with one person doing all the art, programming, writing and designing!
Chained Echoes is a pixel JRPG that incorporates mech technology and dragons together! It raised over twice it's goal of 60,000 euros and was released 3 years after being funded.
Chained Echoes has over 5000 positive reviews on Steam, giving it an estimated sales revenue of 4.5 million!
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Goal: ¥53,808,516 (~$355,000 USD)
Raised: ¥481,621,841 (~$3,182,268 USD)
Type: Studio (Rabbit&Bear Studio)
Kickstart Launch Campaign: 2020 (Kickstarter Page)
Game Release Date: Not Released (April 2024)
Our last feature is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes designed by a team of veteran JRPG developers from Japan. Kickstarter isn't just for indie developers- it can also be for veteran game industry experts who want to see their projects come to life. They managed to raise over $3.1 million during their Kickstarter Campaign and 4 years later the game is just about to be released.
If you want to follow along to see how successful the game is, check out their Steam page (maybe even Wishlist it!).
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