Are the Million-dollar Kickstarters slowing down?

[Morrus]

The million dollar TTRPG Kickstarters have really slowed down. At one point they were coming in at about one every month (there were 3 in May 2022!), but we haven't seen one since November 2022 (unless I'm missing one?)

Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club

(note these are TTRPG Kickstarters -- not minis, boardgames, accessories etc., although some include those things)

Here they are in date order:

7th Sea: Second Edition⁺	March 2016
Strongholds & Streaming^*⁺	March 2018
Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e^*⁺	April 2019
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!^*	November 2019
The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5e	June 2020
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Second Edition⁺	March 2021
The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns^⁺	March 2021
Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game	April 2021
Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire^*⁺	May 2021
Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent^*⁺	May 2021
Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting^⁺	July 2021
Dungeons of Drakkenheim^*⁺	August 2021
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game⁺	September 2021
Tanares RPG - 5e^*⁺	October 2021
Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds^*⁺	November 2021
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed Set⁺	December 2021
The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2^⁺	April 2022
Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game⁺	May 2022
"Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e^*⁺	May 2022
BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying Game⁺	May 2022
Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement^⁺	August 2022
Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim^*⁺	September 2022
Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme*⁺	November 2022

 

[harunmushod]

A bit too soon to judge. There’s never been a $1M Kickstarter in January or February and a three month gap is hardly unusual.

 

[Morrus]

A bit too soon to judge. There’s never been a $1M Kickstarter in January or February and a three month gap is hardly unusual.

Yeah, March-May looks like it's been busy historically. Maybe Spring is the time of million dollar Kickstarters?

 

[Loren the GM]

I'd also say the OGL situation impacted the entire industry and put a lot of plans on hold. Anyone looking to launch a 5e Kickstarter in January almost certainly delayed, so that will add some bumps in the data around this specific event.

 

[darjr]

I'd also say the OGL situation impacted the entire industry and put a lot of plans on hold. Anyone looking to launch a 5e Kickstarter in January almost certainly delayed, so that will add some bumps in the data around this specific event.

A few still remain “on hold” or outright canceled.

 

[Loren the GM]

A few still remain “on hold” or outright canceled.

Exactly, well worth noting the impact is well beyond just delays.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Maybe the situation with the OGL also pushed some creators to make some changes to their product, licensing or schedules?

 

[JiffyPopTart]

On the boardgame side...a lot of the chickens of COVID are coming home to roost.

Multiple Kickstarters are semi-fulfilled and are stuck at distribution partners awaiting payment from the gaming company that doesn't have funds to send.

I am currently waiting on a copy of Fief:France. The non-US copies have delivered over a year ago. US stores received their copies and you can buy one online. What did t get sent out (and has been held up for over a year) are all the copies going to US individual backers.

Between the companies that ran out of cash and those asking for huge shipping prices, many in the boardgame world are not as free with their pledges or considering waiting on retail when before it 2as a quick click to back.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Rising interest rates means Americans' credit cards are pretty stressed at the moment, after being at historically low interest rates. I would not be surprised if more families than mine are trimming the sails for a bit.

 

[Morrus]

Rising interest rates means Americans' credit cards are pretty stressed at the moment, after being at historically low interest rates. I would not be surprised if more families than mine are trimming the sails for a bit.

Trust me, this is not a uniquely American problem right now. It’s global.

But yeah, the cost of living crisis is probably contributing to the Kickstarter slowdown.