NEW YORK, Nov 17 — Massively multiplayer game Crowfall, currently in development, has returned to crowdfunding but with a twist. This time, backers can become investors in the game's studio itself.

Interest in fantasy MMO Crowfall has helped make it one of the biggest crowdfunded video games to date.

In today's terms, it's the 20th most-funded video game on Kickstarter thanks to a US$1.7 million (RM7.4 million) campaign that ended in March 2015 (the platform's contemporary top three being Shenmue III on US$6.3 million, Bloodstained on US$5.5 million, and Torment: Tides of Numenera on US$4.1 million).

By allowing money to continue flowing into the project after its Kickstarter term finished, the Crowfall website's public tracker puts its current funding total at over US$10 million.

That makes it the fourth biggest crowdfunded video game of all time, across all platforms, behind Star Citizen (US$130 million) and Prison Architect (US$19 million) and Shroud of the Avatar (US$10.6 million).

Like Shroud of the Avatar, one of the Crowfall leads has links to pivotal, early MMO Ultima Online, and even though Crowfall is still in development — and accepting early access purchases from players directly — it's returning to crowdfunding with a different angle.

Just as several video game executives combined for fundraising site Fig.co, which allows backers to prioritise between game-related rewards and financial returns derived from the same project, IndieGoGo has teamed with MicroVentures to offer another investment possibility.

Backers have to offer at least US$100 or more through MicroVentures — a sum which would otherwise grant immediate access to the game via crowfall.com. At the base level, backers still receive access to the WIP game, though at a later date (part of a US$45 perk for non-investors on the Crowfall website) and equity in its studio, ArtCraft.

Similarly, equivalencies can be found for other suggested tiers, which also carry premiums over the standard Crowfall packages.

With two months on the clock until its IndieGoGo round expires, Crowfall becomes one of four initial participants in the IndieGoGo and MicroVentures equity funding model, along with a music-oriented social marketplace, a ball that can communicate with mobile devices, and a distillery and bar in Washington DC. — AFP-Relaxnews