Publishers no longer dictate what games you get. You do.

July 18th, 2012

The promise of Kickstarter gaming keeps getting better. Although still to early to tell what kind of legacy it will leave, on the surface, it appears gamers may finally be able to largely bypass publishers for the games the market still isn't supplying. 

Early this year, Tim Schaffer landed more than $2 million in crowd funding for a PC adventure game, which publishers had previously rejected to fund. All told, Schaffer and his team raised $3.3 million and hope to release the game later this year. 

There are other recent successes as well. It's hard not to get excited about the upcoming Wastland 2, "the godfather of post-apocalyptic RPGs."

Or Ouya, the PC gamer's living room console. You know, an open one that can be moded, hacked, and it will sell for less than $100. A tantalizing supplement to the bigger games you already enjoy on your rig. In just 10 days, the thing raised $5 million from fans, fans who want their consoles to be something different. Not closed boxes. 

Then there are projects like Clandenstine. Instead of starting with the game, they are doing a video series and if people like the series they will make a pc game. Vetting the cultural universe first, before developing a more costly game.

Whatever your take on Kickstarter, it's a great new way to get PC games the community wants developed. And it doesn't come at the expense of traditional PC gaming, which was and has always been open, even as it heads to new places. 

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