The power of crowdfunding can be immense. Direct support from consumers can completely change the fortunes of a talented development team, especially one pitching a project that isn't palatable to investors and publishers. For instance, we wouldn't have Obsidian Entertainment if the original Pillars of Eternity crowdfunding campaign hadn't been a success.
However, many crowdfunding campaigns also stall or are cancelled after raising the necessary investment. After all, you need a level of expertise and a semi-viable business plan to convince an investor or publisher to buy into your product (unless you're Elizabeth Holmes). This isn't necessarily true for crowdfunding campaigns, as plenty of people are willing to invest a small amount of money in a speculative product. It's far easier to convince one thousand consumers to invest $20 in a project than it is to convince one person to invest $200,000.
An unfortunate use of crowdfunding recently occurred with The Lore Knight Narunii, a Japanese content creator known for covering Souls games. In 2023, Narunii decided to crowdfund his own game, a dark fantasy action game called Chikai no Fuchi (Oath's Abyss) on the website Campfire (thank you, Automaton).
The project quickly took off, raising over ¥50 million...
