Thought that Precursor Games was the only one who started and stopped crowd-funding campaigns? Spicy Horse’s OZombie has suffered the same, amassing $141,513 of its $950,000 goal from 2,607 backers before being shut down by the developer.
The reasons for this are simple however: founder American McGee is prioritizing the rights for a film based on Alice first.
As explained on Kickstarter, “First, we’re facing a challenge with the Alice film rights. Since working to remove it from the Oz campaign we’ve been unable to launch it as a separate campaign here on Kickstarter – the submission has been rejected multiple times and our appeals have failed (multiple campaigns are not allowed). To launch a campaign for the Alice films rights means we must first shut down the Oz campaign.”
He also explained that the progress the campaign had made so far was also a contributing factor. Despite amassing $141,513 in funds and 2,607 backers, it was only on track to make 30 per cent of its $950,000 goal by the deadline of August 5.
The fact that OZombie wouldn’t have met its crowd-funding goal by the deadline on August 5th was also a factor. “Second, we wouldn’t consider shutting down the Oz campaign if it were trending towards success. As it is, we’ve reached 15% of our goal with 20 days left in the campaign. Projections suggest we’ll hit 30% of our goal by campaign end. I’ve been telling myself to remain optimistic and see this thing through – but when the reality of our funding trend is combined with the pressure of the Alice film rights situation…
“For Oz, we can always launch another campaign in the future. On the other hand, the Alice film rights are only within reach during a rapidly closing window of opportunity. We’ll sacrifice Oz today in order to have a real chance with Alice.”
McGee has promised news regarding the Alice film Kickstarter later this week.