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Nearly 2,000 Games Received $89 Million In Kickstarter Funding In 2014
Kickstarter has shared a look back at the projects it hosted in 2014. The organization says that $529 million was pledged to 22,252 projects, about nine percent of which fall into the gaming category.
These projects include digital titles like The Molasses Flood’s inaugural project, The Flame and the Flood, and tabletop games. In total, 1,980 games were funded, placing the category at fourth (of fifteen) behind music (4,009 projects), film and video (3,846 projects), and publishing (2,064 projects).
In total, $89.1 million went to gaming initiatives, making it the third most funded category. Technology tops the list at $125 million, with design next at $96.7 million.
Kickstarter also reports that 2014 saw more than 2 million new backers on the platform. Nearly 774,000 people backed multiple projects last year, and 1,125 individuals threw their support behind over 100 projects each.
For the complete list of Kickstarter stats, visit the company’s website. You can also watch a slide show of highlights here.
[Source: Kickstarter]
Our Take
Gaming has certainly taken its place as a pillar of Kickstarter’s activities, but it’s important to remember that a funded Kickstarter project is just one step of development. It’s best to consider every Kickstarter pledge a gamble rather than a sure thing.
I’m curious to find out if Kickstarter has done any deeper analysis of a project sample. Many (but not all) successful Kickstarter games come from known parties with a history of success. Is that the same for performance, publication, and film, or do backers have greater tolerance for risk in those fields?
Kickstarter is still a young platform, and there’s much to be learned. Hopefully the organization offer qualitative assessments in the future.
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