10 Most Successful Crowdfunded Video Games Of All Time

7. Pillars Of Eternity

pillars of eternity
Paradox Interactive

Perhaps more than any other developer, Obsidian Entertainment have benefitted the most from the new rise of interest in crowd-funded projects. In fact, their first title, Pillars of Eternity, set the precedent for all isometric RPGs going forward.

An ambitious high-fantasy role-playing throwback, the title hit its $1.1 million Kickstarter goal in a mere 24 hours, concluding with just under $4 million. However, an extended PayPal push bumped that up even higher, with Obsidian ending up with $4.1 million to play around with.

Three years later, the game released and became a massive success, not only with the fans who backed the project, but also with a wider player base who were starved for quality experiences in this often-ignored sub-genre. Gaining near-perfect reviews across the board, the project not only went on to spawn a revered series, but actually saved Obsidian from closure, who were facing the reality of shutting down before the success of the Kickstarter.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.