Does the promise of a full refund extend to backers outside of KickStarter?

Prescience

From the Kickstarter page we can see that Intrepid Studios has made a public promise to refund all backers in full if the game does not launch.

The exact wording: * And finally, in the case that Ashes of Creation does NOT launch, we promise to refund all backers in full. 

This is a very generous promise and it does not specifically say "Kickstarter backers" but "all backers in full".

Naturally, I have a few questions. 

• What constitutes a "game launch" in the eyes of Intrepid?
• If the game is not playable are we eligible for a full refund?
• What if we backed the game outside of Kickstarter and would like a full refund - if it doesn't launch?
• What time frame should be applied to this promise? (The game could be delayed indefinitely and one could argue it still "intends" to launch. However, at some point in time it is not unreasonable to believe the game "isn't going to launch.")
• If there is no time frame applied should there be a reasonable numbers of "delays" applied before we are eligible for a refund?
• How many "delays" are acceptable before all backers are refunded in full?
• Are we allowed to request refunds at this time or when we feel the game has been in development for too long and hasn't launched in a reasonable amount of time?

I feel that these are all important questions that should be addressed promptly. On one hand, it will improve the sales of pledges if players know they are guaranteed to get their money back. On the the other hand, we need clarification regarding when we can deem the game unable to launch and what constitutes a "launch".

What we know so far:

• In the very least we know that all Kickstarter backers will be 100% refunded if the game doesn't "launch."
• This refund is unconditional for Kickstarter backers meaning a full refund regardless of backer level.
• As of December 2018 of this year, referencing the Kickstarter page, all Kickstarter backers should be eligible for a refund based on the stated delivery date of Dec 2018. 
  

jahlon

It is a fair and valid point to be worried, however, I think we are past the point of worrying the game will not launch.

The game is already funded to a minimum viable product
There are now over 100 people working on the project with developers in France and Malaysia
They have just recently reaffirmed that the Alpha 1 testing is on schedule for Q4 of 2018


Also on the Kickstarter date of 2018, this is actually something I spent a lot of time researching.  

While I do agree it says the deadline is December 2018,. this is a limitation by Kickstarter that they do not allow companies to extend their delivery deadline past a certain date.  This is actually something I hope Kickstarter changes in the future for MMORPGs because their development timeline is often more than 3 years.

...on a side note I don't think MMORPGS should be allowed to be funded on kickstarter, but that's a different topic all together.   

Angreeegamer

How many more places do you need to copy paste this thread until you get the answer you want lol?

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Vrika

That promise to refund means nothing: Intrepid Studios doesn't have any other business besides Ashes of Creation, and if they game fails to launch they are out of money. You might get position of an unsecured creditor in bankruptcy proceedings, but expecting that you get your money back should the game fail is unrealistic.