Kickstarter and the Crowdfunding Era
The Direct-to-Consumer Revolution That Resurrected Gaming's Dead Genres
Ignited in February 2012 by Tim Schafer's Double Fine Adventure, the video game Kickstarter revolution allowed players to bypass corporate publishers and directly fund neglected classical genres.
Double Fine Adventure and the $3.3 Million Tsunami
In February 2012, LucasArts veteran Tim Schafer bypassed corporate publishers who insisted point-and-click adventure games were commercially obsolete, asking fans on Kickstarter for $400,000. Shattering records by amassing over $3.3 million from 87,000 backers, the project proved that direct fan funding could finance mid-budget auteur titles without corporate interference.
The Renaissance of Classical Computer Role-Playing
The crowdfunding deluge rescued storied studios and extinct genres. Obsidian Entertainment avoided bankruptcy with Pillars of Eternity, InXile revived Wasteland 2, and Larian Studios funded Divinity: Original Sin. Crowdfunding fundamentally redistributed creative power from publisher boardrooms directly into players' hands.