"Crowdfunding is fundamentally a marketing and a community exercise" – What developers need to know about funding a game with Kickstarter in 2026
Kickstarter remains viable for game funding in 2025, with $26 million raised, but success now requires polished demos, pre-existing audiences, and vigilance against scams.
Kickstarter raised $26 million for games in 2025, matching 2024 totals and marking one of the platform’s stronger years since 2015. Research by Ico Partners’ Thomas Bidaux shows 443 projects were funded, a 4% drop from 2024, while 55 projects exceeded $100,000 and 11 surpassed $500,000. Bidaux notes early indicators suggest 2026 may mirror 2025’s performance, though Kickstarter does not underwrite the entire industry. The data underscores both opportunity and competition on the platform.
David Harper, MD of Skyhook Games, highlights the growing difficulty of crowdfunding due to market saturation and economic pressures. He warns that scammers can disrupt campaigns by withdrawing large pledges, as occurred with Lawn Mowing Simulator 2 in its final hours. Harper emphasizes the need for near-complete games, release-quality footage, and pre-existing audience engagement to succeed. Crowdfunding, he argues, is now primarily a marketing and community-building exercise rather than a funding lifeline.
Scams remain a persistent challenge on Kickstarter, with Harper’s project losing a major pledge just before its target was met. The incident forced an extension and exposed vulnerabilities in the platform’s safeguards. Harper suggests limiting high-tier rewards to mitigate risk, though this reduces potential support from large donors. The episode illustrates the precarious balance between accessibility and security for developers relying on crowdfunding.
Critics like Daniel Milo of Timeless Toucan argue crowdfunding is flawed, requiring near-finished games and existing audiences to succeed. Milo warns that Steam penalizes campaigns selling keys by ignoring core audience reviews, and failed campaigns can harm future funding prospects. He advocates traditional investment or revenue-sharing models as alternatives, citing systemic issues such as underfunding and aggressive target-setting to secure quick validation.