5 Kickstarter Games That Failed to Deliver Their Promises

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Many independent game developers use Kickstarter to fund their projects, relying on contributions from fans to achieve ambitious goals and create games that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. However, not all Kickstarter campaigns succeed, and sometimes even successful projects disappoint fans months or years later. The most problematic cases involve games that completely break the trust of those who supported them, releasing products that have caused significant controversy.

Kickstarter has a downside: some projects receive funding but never actually launch, leaving fans disappointed. While delays happen, a few projects seem like scams, taking money without delivering much in return. This list focuses on Kickstarters that did eventually release a game, because there are plenty of failed projects to cover in a separate list.

5. Mighty No. 9

Mighty No. 9 started as a Kickstarter project with Keiji Inafune, a well-known artist from Capcom’s classic Mega Man series. It was intended to be a spiritual successor to Mega Man, offering a similar experience that Capcom wasn’t providing with the original franchise. The game launched on Kickstarter in 2013 and was repeatedly promoted as a continuation of Mega Man’s legacy, creating a lot of excitement among fans. However, when it was finally released, it didn’t quite live up to those expectations.

One of the biggest disappointments of Mighty No. 9 is that it’s simply mediocre – not nearly as good as even the weakest Mega Man games. Despite raising almost $3.8 million from over 67,000 Kickstarter backers, the game suffers from uninspired graphics, bad voice acting, and poorly designed levels that feel disrespectful to the series’ legacy. The gameplay is basic and lacks innovation, and the visuals are noticeably below the quality of other games released in 2016, making three years of fan funding feel wasted.

4. Takedown: Red Sabre

Takedown: Red Sabre was presented as a spiritual successor to popular tactical shooters like the original Rainbow Six and SWAT 4. The game launched as a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 and nearly failed to meet its funding goal. However, a late surge of support, boosted by a donation and promotion from a former Call of Duty developer, helped it raise around $221,833. With over 5,400 backers, excitement built for its release in 2013.

The Kickstarter campaign for Takedown: Red Sabre ultimately tried to deliver too much, too soon. Although a partnership with 505 Games initially helped development, the game launched in an unfinished state. Numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes made it almost unplayable, resulting in overwhelmingly negative reviews. While the game had many interesting ideas, it suffered from poor execution, including weak enemy AI and a disappointing multiplayer experience that didn’t live up to the promises of the original Kickstarter.

3. The Stomping Land

Before games like Ark: Survival Evolved became popular, The Stomping Ground was the dinosaur survival game everyone was excited about. It launched on Kickstarter in 2013 and quickly exceeded expectations, raising $114,000 – far beyond its $20,000 goal from developer SuperCrit. This extra funding allowed the team to expand the game’s scope, adding more ambitious features and a robust online multiplayer experience to its prehistoric survival world.

This game initially aimed to be a large-scale, immersive survival experience with dinosaurs, primitive tribes, and dynamic day-night cycles across diverse environments. Unfortunately, when it launched in 2014, it failed to deliver on any of those promises. Even during its Early Access period, The Stomping Ground was plagued with bugs and offered a frustratingly basic and unpolished gameplay experience. Despite promises of future improvements, the game was pulled from Steam in 2015, leaving players disappointed and out of pocket.

2. Stray Souls

The horror game Stray Souls generated a lot of excitement on Kickstarter, largely because it featured well-known developers. A key draw was Akira Yamaoka, the composer famous for his work on Silent Hill, which led many fans to anticipate a truly terrifying and immersive psychological horror game. Unfortunately, early trailers revealed that the game didn’t live up to those high expectations.

While Stray Souls looks good thanks to Unreal Engine 5, the game is unfortunately quite flawed. The writing is often unintentionally funny, and many of the game’s elements feel like recycled content. Repetitive gameplay, odd cutscenes, and numerous bugs make it a glitchy experience, even when it’s trying to be scary. The soundtrack is a highlight, but overall, the game feels like a poorly made horror movie – best enjoyed as a source of amusement with friends.

1. Godus

As a longtime gamer, I think Peter Molyneux is the perfect example of someone who promised the world but didn’t quite deliver. He’s made some genuinely fantastic games – I loved Dungeon Keeper, Black & White, and especially Fable! But he has a habit of getting people really excited about his projects, and that really backfired with GODUS. It started on Kickstarter as “Project: GODUS” back in 2012, and he pitched it as a spiritual successor to his earlier work – basically a huge, sprawling simulation game, almost like a Civilization-style experience.

The game GODUS received almost £526,563 in funding from 17,184 backers on Kickstarter. One lucky backer even won a contest promising them 1% of the game’s future profits. Unfortunately, development stalled, and the game was eventually released unfinished and without many of the features backers were promised, causing frustration and controversy. Ultimately, the game wasn’t financially successful, meaning the contest winner didn’t receive any profits.

The troubled development of GODUS resulted in a mediocre game that Peter Molyneux quickly abandoned, even though fans protested. In retrospect, GODUS was a project built on unfulfilled promises, and it served as a warning that some Kickstarter projects simply can’t deliver on their ambitious goals.

What Kickstarter project do you think fell through the most? Share your thoughts in the comments, or discuss it on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-28 20:12