Crowfall Founder Gives Insight into Sale in Latest Blog Post | MMORPG.com

System · December 2021

Crowfall Founder Gives Insight into Sale in Latest Blog Post | MMORPG.com

Yesterday we reported that Crowfall has been purchased by independent game studio Monumental, which developed the game Mythgard. ArtCraft plans to move on to other projects, and it will no longer be associated with the development of Crowfall, but that didn't stop the founder, J. Todd Coleman from giving a little bit of history on the project, and what lead to the sale to Monumental.

Read the full story here

bgzgamer · December 2021

what a joke

So while you were funded to do something, you funded something else because you know how much your game sucked.

Knowing how terrible your combat system is in Crowfall, theres no fucking way someone is going to purchase anything from your next project. You failed. Go away.

slowz2secret · December 2021

We will never trust these guys again, so this new company Monumental I never will play a game from them...

QuarterStack · December 2021

Todd could always make Wizard102.

Nilden · December 2021

How many people even play this game?

Truvidienn · December 2021

Nilden said:

How many people even play this game?

It has a small group of people. No clue how many but some people are enjoying it

Nilden · December 2021

Truvidienn said:

Nilden said:

How many people even play this game?

It has a small group of people. No clue how many but some people are enjoying it

Yeah enjoy it while you can.

Slapshot1188 · December 2021

Sometimes a fresh start is best. The game was not ready for launch but did have some pretty cool parts. Maybe this will allow someone of a re-brand and a second chance.

We will see.

BruceYee · December 2021

Apparently Monumental bought the game Mythgard from another developer which is info I found from a simple google search.

@Nilden - ""Yeah enjoy it while you can"? are you saying there is something going on here other than the game being sold by one company to another to be further developed/maintained?

Looks like a mobile card game company based in USA that somehow was able to work out a deal to buy the game. I don't see anything suspicious it looks like a mobile game company trying to expand into PC.

The way CF dropped the info suddenly makes me think there were other bidders though and that whatever was going on to work out a deal was happening in the back ground for some time. I suggested before launch that I thought that a lot of what they were doing was geared toward trying to sell the game to another company. Judging how post launch went with playerbase, income, retention was probably how they could gauge potential buyer interest.

The most obvious proof for my claim is how completely uninterested in making money the company(ACE) was almost immediately post launch with special/limited deals. Every "deal" included the game and the same 5 mounts rather than deals for backers who'd already bought the game and own all the stuff they were offering...

Why after 5+ years in development would ZERO effort be put into creating interesting/alluring deals for people who'd already spent(possibly) hundreds/thousands on the game? because all they were interested in was not spending any extra money AND just trying to increase playerbase so they could show minimal expense paid w/ X playerbase numbers to potential buyers. Essentially showing that you can keep the game in maintenance mode and X is how much they(potential buyer) would make.

foppotee · December 2021

I always wanted to try this game & that Albion because of their art styles but since both were/are PvP focused & I'm not into PvP I never tried. I hope maybe with a fresh start there would be a PvE route added but not taking away the PvP since I know players like that.

Kyleran · December 2021

What's curious is Artcraft had reported receiving funding up near $35M with less than $7-$10M from crowdfunding.

So were they really able to sell CF for enough to pay the other investors, or did the new owners agree to assume the debt, or does the debt remain with Artcraft which could be bankrupted in the future to get the game out from under it?

Scot · December 2021

CF still has a Kickstarter up and running, what has happened is not as bad as CoE but puts another nail in the coffin of the Indie KS MMO idea for me. I realise some have additional investment and so on, but we have to go on outcomes. Until we have one that launches and is a success the whole idea must have a huge question mark over it now.

Mensur · December 2021

What a bunch of idiots. We failed at first game- so we will start on a new game. go F yourself!

Graveblade · December 2021

Mensur said:

What a bunch of idiots. We failed at first game- so we will start on a new game. go F yourself!

Well tbf if you fail at a project and it is unsustainable, you have to just learn from your mistakes and you move on to the next project.

YashaX · December 2021

bgzgamer said:

what a joke

So while you were funded to do something, you funded something else because you know how much your game sucked.

Knowing how terrible your combat system is in Crowfall, theres no fucking way someone is going to purchase anything from your next project. You failed. Go away.

The combat system was pretty good imo. That certainly wasn't the worst thing about the game or why it flopped so hard.

Mendel · December 2021

Kyleran said:

What's curious is Artcraft had reported receiving funding up near $35M with less than $7-$10M from crowdfunding.

So were they really able to sell CF for enough to pay the other investors, or did the new owners agree to assume the debt, or does the debt remain with Artcraft which could be bankrupted in the future to get the game out from under it?

There's always the possibility of declaring a tax loss. Now, which company is more in need for a loss to offset profits, Artcraft or Monumental? That's likely to be where the debt is at.

JerekMalvado · December 2021

Screw Artcrap, J. Todd. Gordon and Blair they are snake oil salesman. I love how they couldn't even complete their first game before starting a brand new project. What a joke of a company and what a crappy game. I wish I could get my 150 dollars back but I'll never crowdfund anything ever again.

Scot · December 2021

JerekMalvado said:

Screw Artcrap, J. Todd. Gordon and Blair they are snake oil salesman. I love how they couldn't even complete their first game before starting a brand new project. What a joke of a company and what a crappy game. I wish I could get my 150 dollars back but I'll never crowdfund anything ever again.

Welcome to the forums!

I hope you get your money back mate, it is that side of it that is making players think never fund a KS game again.

LynxJSA · December 2021

BruceYee said:

@Nilden - ""Yeah enjoy it while you can"? are you saying there is something going on here other than the game being sold by one company to another to be further developed/maintained?

I think you're reading too much into Nilden's statement. Unless Monumental already has changes in the works, it doesn't seem like there is very much future left to Crowfall, even with new owners.

nurso · December 2021

I don't understand why so many people are demanding refunds from Kickstarter projects. The whole thing is highly speculative. If you want certainty, buy a game on Steam.

TheDalaiBomba · December 2021

nurso said:

I don't understand why so many people are demanding refunds from Kickstarter projects. The whole thing is highly speculative. If you want certainty, buy a game on Steam.

Well, part of it is that admitting that the money was basically a gamble (and a poor one at that) would mean admitting that maybe they aren't going to get their dream MMORPG made after all.

The lesson should be: don't let someone try to sell you the promise of your dreams. Not just applicable to video games, either.

Scot · December 2021

TheDalaiBomba said:

nurso said:

I don't understand why so many people are demanding refunds from Kickstarter projects. The whole thing is highly speculative. If you want certainty, buy a game on Steam.

Well, part of it is that admitting that the money was basically a gamble (and a poor one at that) would mean admitting that maybe they aren't going to get their dream MMORPG made after all.

The lesson should be: don't let someone try to sell you the promise of your dreams. Not just applicable to video games, either.

I agree with what you are saying, they should have realised there were no guarantees. Regardless, it is not getting the refunds back that is making players say "never again". If in the future there was some way to assure their money was safe we would not have players wanting to kick the KS MMO concept into the ditch. Not sure it is even possible that could be done.

lashlash · December 2021

Scot said:
I agree with what you are saying, they should have realised there were no guarantees. Regardless, it is not getting the refunds back that is making players say "never again". If in the future there was some way to assure their money was safe we would not have players wanting to kick the KS MMO concept into the ditch. Not sure it is even possible that could be done.

The CEO of the company that acquired Crowfall thinks Kickstarter wasn't a good idea:

I’m proud of what the team has accomplished and I know the the Kickstarter campaign was important in making that possible.
That said, I don’t think Kickstarter for video games - particularly MMOs - is healthy. I told Todd countless times that the only product the comes from crowdfunding video games is disappointment.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/riwax5/crowfall_blog_a_new_chapter_j_todd_coleman/hp1lbqb/

There’s a lot to love about Crowfall, and I’m especially proud of the passionate and talented team.
I’d say the biggest issues were not enough money (making development slow, inability to invest in half-finished ideas, and being forced to launch before they were ready) and making too many promises too early (Kickstarter was not their friend).
I also think there were countless design decisions (often constrained by budget) that make the game inaccessible to a large audience.
My plan is to invest in the team and explore ways to help the game find a bigger audience.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/riwax5/crowfall_blog_a_new_chapter_j_todd_coleman/hp1mrrz/

Kyleran · December 2021

lashlash said:

Scot said:
I agree with what you are saying, they should have realised there were no guarantees. Regardless, it is not getting the refunds back that is making players say "never again". If in the future there was some way to assure their money was safe we would not have players wanting to kick the KS MMO concept into the ditch. Not sure it is even possible that could be done.

The CEO of the company that acquired Crowfall thinks Kickstarter wasn't a good idea:
I’m proud of what the team has accomplished and I know the the Kickstarter campaign was important in making that possible.
That said, I don’t think Kickstarter for video games - particularly MMOs - is healthy. I told Todd countless times that the only product the comes from crowdfunding video games is disappointment.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/riwax5/crowfall_blog_a_new_chapter_j_todd_coleman/hp1lbqb/
There’s a lot to love about Crowfall, and I’m especially proud of the passionate and talented team.
I’d say the biggest issues were not enough money (making development slow, inability to invest in half-finished ideas, and being forced to launch before they were ready) and making too many promises too early (Kickstarter was not their friend).
I also think there were countless design decisions (often constrained by budget) that make the game inaccessible to a large audience.
My plan is to invest in the team and explore ways to help the game find a bigger audience.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/riwax5/crowfall_blog_a_new_chapter_j_todd_coleman/hp1mrrz/

Nilden · December 2021

LynxJSA said:

BruceYee said:

@Nilden - ""Yeah enjoy it while you can"? are you saying there is something going on here other than the game being sold by one company to another to be further developed/maintained?

I think you're reading too much into Nilden's statement. Unless Monumental already has changes in the works, it doesn't seem like there is very much future left to Crowfall, even with new owners.

Exactly.

nurso · December 2021

lashlash said:
I also think there were countless design decisions (often constrained by budget) that make the game inaccessible to a large audience.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/riwax5/crowfall_blog_a_new_chapter_j_todd_coleman/hp1mrrz/

To be honest, I don't think the multiple hour long single-player PvE tutorial or the weird BR mode was created because of a tight budget.

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Crowfall Founder Gives Insight into Sale in Latest Blog Post | MMORPG.com

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Crowfall Founder Gives Insight into Sale in Latest Blog Post | MMORPG.com

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Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

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