Methodology

BackerWatch summarizes public information about crowdfunded video games. We avoid judgment words and make no claims about anyone's intent; each status is a dated description of what public sources show.

Which projects are included

Video game campaigns that were successfully funded on Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Gamefound between 2018 and 2026, starting with the most-backed and most-covered projects and adding a mix of smaller ones. Campaigns funded in 2026 are included only if they have a sourced promised delivery date, so there is something to measure against. On Gamefound we list original campaigns only; most video game pages there are pledge managers for Kickstarter campaigns, and in 2025 Gamefound folded video games into broader categories. Fictional and historical war-themed games are in scope. Adult-only titles are excluded.

Where the figures come from

Backers, amount raised and funding dates come from the campaign page where we could read it, otherwise from public trackers of the campaign (Hyperstarter or PledgeBox for Kickstarter) or from press coverage and press releases at the time. Indiegogo, Kickstarter and Gamefound pages often show automated bot-check pages, and we don't bypass them, so some figures come from those secondary sources. The source used is listed on each game's page. Trackers sometimes disagree in the last digits, or because of late pledges; where we noticed, the game's page says so. For Indiegogo and Gamefound campaigns where we could not see the end date, the funded date is the day the campaign passed its goal, and the game's page says so.

Statuses

Delivered

The core game promised in the campaign has been released (version 1.0 or equivalent) on at least its main promised platform.

Partially delivered

The game has been released, but the creator or reliable press reports that promised platforms or core rewards (for example physical editions) are still outstanding.

In development

Not yet released (Early Access counts as in development), the creator has posted publicly within the last 90 days, and no sourced delivery estimate has passed yet — or we have not yet sourced one. If the latest update could not be dated, the page says so.

Late

Not yet released, past a sourced delivery estimate, and the creator has posted publicly within the last 90 days.

Silent

Not yet delivered, and we found no public creator update for 90 or more days on the channels we check (the Kickstarter campaign page's last-updated date where applicable, the game's official Steam announcements, plus any dated creator announcement, press release or official social post we verified by hand and link on the game's page). Before labeling a game Silent we also spot-check its official X account where one exists. Silent describes communication only; a game in Early Access may still be playable.

Cancelled

The creator or publisher announced that development stopped, was cancelled, or was paused indefinitely after a studio closure.

Refunded

The creator announced refunds for the campaign as a whole. (No listed project currently has this status.)

Dates and "months late"

The promised delivery date is the campaign's estimated delivery as shown on the campaign page or as reported by press at the time of the campaign. Year-only estimates are treated as December of that year; "early" as March; "spring" as June; "late" as December. Months late = months from that estimate to delivery (or to the verification date if not yet delivered). We leave months late blank when we have not sourced an estimate. Crowdfunding estimates are not legal deadlines; delays are common in game development.

"Last update" date

We record the most recent of: the "last updated" date shown on the Kickstarter campaign page (Indiegogo and Gamefound don't show one in a form we can read), the most recent official announcement in the game's Steam news feed, and any dated creator post we verified by hand (linked on the game's page). Kickstarter's "last updated" date may reflect campaign-page edits as well as backer updates. Creators may also post on Discord, social media or their own sites, which we don't check automatically — if a creator posts there, we welcome a correction.

How data is collected

Data is gathered slowly and by hand or with a low-rate script (at most one request every few seconds, honoring robots.txt). We read campaign pages, Steam's public store data, creators' own announcements and reputable games press. We do not bypass bot-protection pages or log in to anything. Each status lists its sources and the date we last verified it. Statuses are reviewed by a person before publishing; the refresh script only proposes changes.

Corrections

Anyone can request a correction. We review requests against public sources and update the page and its "last verified" date.