Ever wondered what the 10 most successful Kickstarter games of all time are? When it comes to creating games, one of the toughest challenges developers have to face is funding. It requires a good amount of money to make good quality games that people will enjoy. The standard for both video games and hobby games continue to increase with each hit game that is released.
It’s a good thing that websites such as Kickstarter have surfaced in recent years. Kickstarter gives developers who are lacking funding a chance by allowing other people to fund their project. Developers promise something in return for those who support their project which is usually a copy of the game itself. Probably one of the most difficult things Kickstarter-funded projects have to face is communicating with their backers and making sure the project reaches expectations. If you’re looking for the types of projects that get the most success on Kickstarter, check out the 7 most successful Kickstarter categories to fund your project.
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So what constitutes a successful game from Kickstarter? We have to look at it at two aspects. First, we have to check the amount of success the game had on Kickstarter which is easily measured by how much money they were able to raise to support the game. Luckily, the website itself ranks the games based on how much money they raised, making it easier to find the top funded games on the website.
The next thing we have to check is the success of the game after its release. Since we are looking at it from a financial viewpoint, the next best thing to check is their reception and critical success. Since there are both video games and hobby games on Kickstarter, we have to check two resources. First is Metacritic, which compiles reviews of video games to give them an appropriate score. The other website we can check is Board Game Geek which is one of the most active hobby game communities on the Internet. They have a geek rating, which is essentially a rating without the bias of dummy accounts trying to increase the rating of a board game through votes.
Do take into account that both hobby games and video games have different methodologies for their rating system. With that in mind, let’s head into the 10 most successful Kickstarter games of all time.
10. Scythe
BGG Rating: 7.97
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $1.8 million
Scythe is a worker placement/economy board game set in an alternate-1920s. Players control one of five factions in Eastern Europe hoping to achieve their personal goals while building around a mysterious city-state only known as “The Factory”. The game does its best to streamline the game and give players more control over their actions, mitigating the luck factor of drawing cards.
9. Shadowrun Returns
Metacritic Rating: 76
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $1.83 million
Shadowrun Returns is a turn-based role-playing game based on the Shadowrun tabletop game series. The game has even found enough success to release a standalone expansion in 2014. The game received generally favorable reviews during its release with its share of criticisms for the save system that was later resolved in the expansion.
8. Zombicide Season 3: Rue Morgue
BGG Rating: 6.5
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $2.2 million
One of the board game series that solely funds through Kickstarter, Zombicide Season 3: Rue Morgue is a cooperative game for 1 to 12 players. Players control survivors who are fighting off a zombie horde while trying to achieve an objective depending on the scenario. Season three introduces new characters and new zombie types.
7. Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak
BGG Rating: 6.98
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $2.2 million
We are continuing our list of most successful Kickstarter games of all time with Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak that received the same amount of funding from Kickstarter as Season 3 but fared a little better in terms of reviews. The second season focused on close-ranged fights and featured newer content that can be mixed in with the first season. The game also introduces survivors with the Zombivor aspects which give a whole new dimension to players.
6. Exploding Kittens
BGG Rating: 5.67
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $8.7 million
Exploding Kittens is the highest funded game on Kickstarter and is as the name denotes, about exploding kittens. It is a Russian roulette style card game which players have to avoid drawing the exploding kitten, or they lose the game. The game features art by popular artist The Oatmeal and also has an NSFW version. Due to the high amount of financial support the game got, it easily makes it into the 10 most successful Kickstarter games of all time.
5. Elite: Dangerous
Metacritic Rating: 80
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $1.92 million
Elite: Dangerous ranks 5th in our list of most successful Kickstarter games of all time. It tasks the player of piloting a spaceship and exploring a galaxy with a size similar to that of the Milky Way. The game is open-ended and features a massive multiplayer system. The actions of the players can affect what is happening in the universe, and it was funded through Kickstarter since the video game company could not get funding from publishers.
4. Hex: Shards of Fate
Metacritic Rating: 87
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $2.2 million
Hex: Shards of Fate is one of the first massively multiplayer online trading card games made by Cryptozoic Entertainment. One of the features that differentiate it from other games of its genre is the socketing and transformation of cards. The developers had a bit of trouble with Wizards of the Coast as the company sued them for infringement of intellectual property. This resulted in a counter-lawsuit, and the case was settled on undisclosed terms.
3. Zombicide: The Black Plague
BGG Rating: 7.3
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $4 million
Released in 2015, Zombicide takes to a different setting this time as it brings the zombie apocalypse to the medieval times. The game has a more sword and sorcery fantasy style as players control various races/classes, hoping to stop the zombie menace. The game features special artifacts, medieval weapons, and revamped Zombicide rules.
2. Wasteland 2
Metacritic Rating: 81
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $2.9 million
Wasteland 2 is a sequel to the 1988 video game Wasteland. It is a turn-based and party-based RPG with players controlling up to seven characters. The game is set in an alternate history with a nuclear war occurring in 1998 plunging the world into a nuclear apocalypse. This sequel is set 15 years after the events of the first game.
1. Pillars of Eternity
Metacritic Rating: 89
Money Raised through Kickstarter: $3.98 million
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Pillars of Eternity is considered a spiritual successor to the highly praised Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale series. The game received a lot of critical acclaim, with many praising the writing and combat system. It would go on to win numerous awards and expansion packs were also released, adding more content into the game. Pillars of Eternity was considered the highest funded video game of its time and its success helps it reach the top of the 10 most successful Kickstarter games of all time.
