Here are a few possible reasons why Kickstarter’s game funding has evaporated in 2016
Kickstarter has become a seemingly-critical part of the video game development industry in recent years, with many Indie projects owing their start to its pool of grass-roots backers. But there is cause to be concerned of late, as market analysis firm ICO Partners (with thanks to Gamerant) claims that the amount of money pledged to video game projects on the site has declined dramatically in 2016 compared to past years.
How much has funding dropped? According to the new report, video game projects have raised $8.2 Million so far in 2016. That’s compared with over $40 Million for all of last year. So, at its current rate, Kickstarter in 2016 is on track to  raise less than half of what it did last year.
So, what are the reasons for this massive decline in Kickstarter video game funding? Here are some possibilities according to Gamerant:
- Last year had a few huge, high-profile projects. Take just one, for example: Shenmue III. Backed by the Sony machine, Shenmue III had the benefit of a big announce at E3 during Sony’s presentation. Last year saw a few such major examples that alone, drove up the funding level on Kickstarter to an almost-unnatural level that cannot be expected to repeat every year.
- Past Kickstarter projects have been disappointing at times. As Gamerant points out, Mighty No. 9 is the best example of this. As what was billed as a spiritual successor the Mega Man, Might No. 9 had huge expectations, which were seemingly dashed upon release with the game’s poor reviews. Could it be that Kickstarter funders are becoming reluctant to fund based on past disappoinment?
- Lastly, it may be that there just aren’t many great projects on Kickstarter so far in 2016. Such things go in cycles, and so it might be that this is a slow year, and perhaps future funding will rebound when better projects come out. Only time will tell.
Is gaming’s love affair with Kickstarter beginning to cool? It is still too early to say; but these latest numbers do give reason for concern, if nothing else. We will keep you informed of any related news as it happens.