The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter ended last year 2021 with a total of 441 video game projects financed with success. A report published by the ICO Partners agency explains the statistics of an unforgettable course for the portal, thus signing an absolute record in terms of the number of financed titles.
Kickstarter in 2021: 24 million dollars raised from a total of 441 projects
The video game category has traditionally been one of Kickstarter’s flagships; although the ups and downs have been a constant this last decade. It is an objective to point out the good moment of crowdfunding on this page, however, given that 2021 has broken its previous best record. To date, the two best data are found in 2020 with 429 funded video game projects; and 2014, with 413 proposals.
In total, the volume of income raised through the video game category in 2021 on Kickstarter amounts to 24 million dollars; a slight drop compared to the 26 million dollars computed in 2020. In other words: more projects have been funded, but with significantly lower average dollars raised. 2013 remains the year with the highest gross turnover in terms of income (and average income) with 56 million dollars spread over “only” 395 projects.
51 projects raised between $100,000 and $500,000 in 2021
ICO Partners points out another interesting detail: 51 of those 441 projects reached a sum of between 100,000 and 500,000 dollars raised; what we can categorize as superlatively successful projects. Yet another record for this historic 2021. To date, the year with the best data in this range was in the equally unforgettable 2014 (Hollow Knight, Pathologic, Bedlam, The Flame in the Flood, Prismata, Thimbleweed Park…).
To put the data in context, it should be remembered that the number of projects successfully financed in 2019, the full year prior to the start of the pandemic, was 193; which at the time represented a rise of 28%. 193 of the 678 campaigns of said course ended successfully, reported this same source.
Conclusion: moderation in the average income in favor of a greater number of success stories
The trend of the last five years is clear: Kickstarter has found a period of very positive stability. Although revenue records are far away, the number of successful projects is increasing. Perhaps there are no longer so many video games with dizzying collections of money —financing methods are now more plural, there are more alternative platforms, more competition…—, but there are more plausible objectives.
This rationalization when proposing projects also makes it easier to achieve objectives more likely. Maturity on the part of the authors? It is possible that yes. Failures, both your own and those of others, allow you to set more logical goals.
- You may be interested in: Kickstarter: The 10 most successful video games on the platform
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