Independent game developer ArtCraft Entertainment announced today they have amassed more than $3 million in crowdfunding to bring their flagship MMO title, Crowfall, to a total funding amount of $10 million. This news comes a few days before the launch of their first external persistent world playtest.
Gordon Walton, president and executive producer at ArtCraft Entertainment said “Over 18 months ago, Crowfall became one of the top 20 video game crowdfunding projects of all time, collecting almost $1.8m from over 16,000 backers. We continue to see amazing growth, with new backers joining our community every month.”
The upcoming MMO which is still in Alpha testing is described as a ‘Throne war simulator’ in which kings, queens, mercenaries and assassins vie for supremacy using military strength, economic might and political power. Each game server represents a single campaign with a unique map, unique rules, and a limited timeframe. Each campaign lasts only a few months before one guild or alliance conquers the map and wins, and the players move on to the next campaign.
“It’s amazing that we crossed this milestone just days before the first public test of our persistent world server,” said J. Todd Coleman, ArtCraft Entertainment CEO. “Until now, we’ve been limited to testing modular systems like combat or castle destruction. This is our first chance to play the game in a large, sprawling game world and for days instead of hours.”
Crowfall is a very ambitious project that has as many curious eyes as skeptical eyes watching its progress. If successful and the developers pull off what they promise they will, it could not only be a technical achievement but could lay the foundation for future MMO’s in terms of the scope they strive for.
