Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove clears $500,000 on Kickstarter

The Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove Kickstarter actually nailed its $400,000 funding goal a couple days ago, but we decided to let it slide until everything was wrapped up, just to see how far it could get before the curtain fell. And it turned out to be surprisingly far: The final amount raised came to $508,637, enough to add on some old-school skins, more playable characters, and the Hyperfunk Zone. Imagine a world without the Hyperfunk Zone. The living would envy the dead.

"We went into this thinking we were just raising money to make a new game, and what we discovered is a tremendous connection with people; connections from past stories, from current passionate support and creativity, and future hopes and faith. This is the real gold. The best gifts are the ones you don't expect to get," the developers wrote in their message of thanks to backers. "So from here, we shift gears and collect ourselves and continue on with a new awareness that it's the journey in life that matters."

It's not exactly one of John Carmack's famous plans, but I suppose that's to be expected at this early stage of development. A website has gone up at tjebackinthegroove.com, but at the moment there's nothing to it but a note that it's the "future home of Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove," and a song that doesn't seem to want to play in Firefox. Naturally, there's also no suggestion of a release date either; the Kickstarter lists November of this year as a delivery date for physical rewards, but project creator Greg Johnson said when the campaign began that the game itself will take much longer to deliver.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.