Kickstarter-funded JRPG Project Phoenix isn’t doing so well. In a recent update on the game’s Kickstarter page, the developer revealed that it had found a programmer, one which had consulted on Project Phoenix before but will only be available full time within two months. It also seems that the project will only be out in 2018 following development.
“Current estimates place dev at about 2.5 years out from completion. This is 2.5 years from the time we get our full-time programmer on board. That means we are expecting early 2018 for a finalized build and 6 months for testing after that. We put out the notice that we are looking for programmers to supplement the work our main programmer will be doing, as well as simply getting things started as soon as possible.”
CIA, Inc. also revealed that it won’t be refunding backers currently. “We know a lot of people are disappointed with the delays and organization of Project Phoenix. We are not considering refunds at this time. To initiate refunds is to give up on the project since there would be no money left to complete it. If we make the decision to call it quits then we will work out some kind of remediation with backers at that time. Until then we are pressing on.”
Project Phoenix was originally slated to release in March 2015 but was delayed due to problems on the programming side. Though it’s nice to see a developer remain committed to a project despite hardships, it does seem weird that refunds won’t be offered for those who may want to back out for lack of results in all this time. What are your thoughts on the Project Phoenix delay? Let us know in the comments.