Video game crowdfunding platform Gambitious launches

Gambitious, a crowdfunding platform designed to specifically cater to the video games industry, has launched, aiming to bring a more professional approach to crowd-sourcing investment.

The platform will allow both fan donations and equity investments. If the project meets its funding goals and makes a profit, investors also have the chance to receive dividends based on their initial investments. Additionally, developers and publishers will always keep the rights to their intellectual property.

In order to promote a game through Gambitious, developers and publishers need to go through a formal qualification process. This includes a requirement for a detailed business and marketing plan.

'Crowdfunding is causing a great seismic shift in how projects get funded, however, there are risks of crash-and-burn due to unfulfilled projects and unfinished games,' said Gambitious chief executive Paul Hanraets. 'Gambitious is designed specifically for the video game industry and ups the ante of developer credibility, investor engagement and development cycle understanding.'

Gambitious is open to independent and non-independent developers and publishers. Its launch portfolio includes seven projects including titles from Red Fly Studio, Abstraction Games and Mutant Games. Upcoming projects include titles from 3D Realms of Duke Nukem fame and Stronghold developer Firefly Studios.

'Crowdfunding is the best thing to happen to indies since shareware in the 90s,' said Gambitious co-founder Mike Wilson. 'It is time to move from the wild, wild, west of crowdfunding to a more professional model.'

The popularity of Crowdfunding for games has exploded following the runaway successes of pitches including Double Fine's adventure game project and Brian Fargo's bid to fund Wasteland 2.