Harmonix Plans On More Crowdfunding, Campaign To Launch Before Amplitude Releases Widely

Harmonix and Fig have announced plans for a future crowdfuding partnership. The platform’s advisory board already consists of indie darlings Tim Schafer, Feargus Urquhart, and Brian Fargo. Harmonix chief operating officer Alex Rigopulos has signed on, with imminent plans for his company’s next project.

While Harmonix recently delayed the launch of crowdfunded game Amplitude into 2016, the company is already gearing up for another pitch. Harmonix plans to kick off its appeal for investment and backer funding on Fig before the end of 2015.

While Fig has one foot in true investments and another in the world of crowdfunding, only accredited investors can hope for a return on their contribution. That is likely to change as regulations around investments evolve.

Our Take
Harmonix needs to be extremely careful here. While backers will get access to Amplitude on PS4 in December, those who paid for early access on PS3 won’t be getting it this year. That means that all of the promises tied to the last campaign won’t be fulfilled prior to asking for more funds.

Given the train wreck that was the Mighty No. 9 delay (and its shady relation to the Red Ash Kickstarter timing) and Double Fine's own fudging the timeline for Broken Age during the Massive Chalice campaign, backers are going to be wary of practices like this. A poorly timed second campaign could do more harm than good.

All of that said, Broken Age, Massive Chalice, and Harmonix's past work have all been received well. It's important to consider the track record of final products when evaluating whether to fund a company coming back to the crowdfunding well.