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Shadowrun Online fundraiser comes down to the wire [Update]
There's this thing called Kickstarter. It's OK if you have never heard of it; it's not like it's sweeping the internet or anything. Anyway, Cliffhanger Productions is relying on Kickstarter to help fund Shadowrun Online, and with just hours to go until the final bell, the project is several thousand dollars short of its $500,000 goal. If it hits $500,000 by 4:00 p.m. EDT today, the project will be fully funded, but if not, Cliffhanger stands to lose a substantial investment in the title. We thought we should mention this for those of you who are Shadowrun fans and would like to see this project succeed. The dev team has added the special offer of the game's soundtrack to those who pitch in $9 or more in these final hours. To help you make up your mind, Cliffhanger has posted a character creation video that shows off some of the possibilities for making your Shadowrun Online avatar. We've posted the video after the break. [Update: Shadowrun Online made its $500,000 and then some with plenty of time to spare!]
Shadowrun Online changes business models during Kickstarter push
There's little debate over whether or not free-to-play is a viable business model, but there are some legitimate concerns over its implementation when mixed with PvP. That's a concern that's been raised by Shadowrun Online fans as the game pushes for Kickstarter funding, and it's one that the developers have addressed in an update on the game's business model. Rather than following a straight free-to-play model, the game will be moving forward under a model more reminiscent of Guild Wars. At launch, the game will retail for $39.99 (Kickstarter backers will be able to get the game at the $25 donation level), with a new "campaign" launched every three or four months at $14.99. Cliffhanger Productions isn't fully replacing the free-to-play model, as both the campaign option and the free-to-play option will be launched on separate servers to support both business models. It's a far-reaching change based on community feedback, and it should be interesting for fans to see how this affects overall donations to the ongoing funding campaign.
