22Cans: ‘Crowdfunding has waned, and that’s a good thing’

Kickstarter is losing its popularity and that’sgood news for the games industry, says 22cans.

The developer came under fire from the media and consumers after its Kickstarter project – Godus – suffered development issues. The firm later admitted it may fail to meet some of the pledges it made to its backers.

Head of production Andrew Walker said that a growing awareness of the challenges around crowdfunding has seen some consumers reticent to back projects – but that’s not necessarily a negative.

There was a huge boom in crowdfunding in the games industry over the last few years, and that has waned now as people have started to understand it better,” he told MCV. I think that’s a good thing. It’s settling down and is starting to find its key demographic.”

He added: Crowdfunding is a perfectly valid platform for some consumers. But people who crowdfund need to be aware that they aren’t pre-ordering; they’re backing a business decision.

The industry needs to take a very clear stance on crowdfunding and all crowdfunding attempts should be open, honest and explain the risks to the consumer.”