Steamforged Games and Kickstarter have announced a new alliance that will see the studio’s next four tabletop projects launched on the crowdfunding platform. The games will be funded exclusively on Kickstarter, marking a big win for the company, as it has been fighting off competition from Gamefound and Backerkit.
Steamforged Games is one of the most significant studios in the world of board games. Based in the United Kingdom, Steamforged Games, known for the official board games adaptations of popular video games such as Resident Evil, Horizon Zero Dawn, Dark Souls, and Monster Hunter: World, has raised more than £20 million ($25 million) in pledges.
Steamforged Games CEO and co-founder Rich Loxam has welcomed the opportunity to continue the successful partnership between the companies, arguing that Kickstarter was an important part of where the company was today.
“We believe it’s the best platform for creators to bring their ideas to life and reach their audience,” Loxam added. He hailed the platform’s successful track record in building passionate communities and providing a fantastic space to craft games and projects.
As part of this partnership, Steamforged has just launched Monster Hunter World Iceborne: The Board Game, a continuation of the first tabletop iteration of the video game that was also introduced by Steamforged back in 2021 on Kickstarter and ended up raising £3.4 million ($4.22 million).
Partnership That Helps Creators of All Sizes
Kickstarter chief strategy officer Jon Leland was similarly excited about this partnership. Leland argued that the idea of creators moving away from Kickstarter after a certain point was not necessarily true.
“This partnership with one of our biggest tabletop games publishers is a testament to the fact that Kickstarter can be part of an ongoing business model that works beyond initial success,” Leland said. He added that the company was always on the lookout to deepen its relationships with creators of all sizes.
More importantly, the prominence of projects such as the ones run by Steamforged, help smaller creators get exposure too. This ripple effect, the company explained is owing to the fact that the platform’s own prominence increases and backers are discovering other worthwhile projects to back.
Based on Kickstarter’s estimates, the first 30,000 first-time backers for Steamforged also brought 230,000 additional pledges, bringing more than $18.5 million for the platform across 30,000 other campaigns.