Anchors in the Drift fails to reach its Fig goal by nearly $400,000

After the success of Fig's first project, Outer Wilds, it seemed there was a huge appetite for the crowdfunding platform's unique take on the model. In addition to conventional crowdfunding ala Kickstarter, Fig also accepts investment pledgers who stand to make a profit if the finished game is a success. The model has hit its first snag however, because its second project, the free-to-play RPG Anchors in the Drift, has failed to meet its target by quite a wide margin.

Still, the studio writes in its wrap-up blogpost that development will not cease on Anchors in the Drift. "We want to extend our sincere thanks to the team at Fig, as well as everyone that supported us by backing and by sharing the campaign with friends," a studio spokesperson wrote.

"Despite not hitting the funding goal, the team remains hard at work readying the game for release. We look forward to inviting everyone into the Anchors Universe next Summer!"

Speaking to Polygon, Fig CEO and former Double Fine COO Justin Bailey said the result represents the game's demand among fans. "Crowdfunding exists so that creators can take more creative risk than a traditional publisher would let them and get a signal directly from their fan. Sometimes the signal is that fans have always wanted this, sometimes for a variety of reasons it does not resonate.

"This is going to be the outcome sometimes, and that's ok. The market, which is made up of fans, ultimately decides successes and failures. What's not ok with fans is the idea of setting a fundraising goal that you hit, only to find out it's some massive subset of the budget you knew you needed to deliver the game."

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.