When Double Fine first set out to create a new adventure game, it looked to Kickstarter to raise $400,000 – a hefty goal, but not unattainable. But in the end, its campaign, which ended yesterday, absolutely murdered its funding target, bringing in more than $3.3 million and setting a Kickstarter record.
"Holy cow people, I can't even believe it," Double Fine wrote in a note on its website. "I don't know what to say. Except THANK YOU!! People are mailing in congratulations to us, but I really have to say congratulations to all the backers because you really sent a message around the industry! And you really made your voices heard loud and clear."
Double Fine said it will post details about what comes next soon. But it's certainly not the end of the story. The process of creating the game will be tracked in a documentary from 2 Player Productions, which is also behind a doc called Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, another Kickstarter-funded project.
When it first posted its Kickstarter page, Double Fine explained why it looked to the startup to raise money for the game.
"Crowd-sourced fundraising sites like Kickstarter have been an incredible boon to the independent development community," Double Fine said. "They democratize the process by allowing consumers to support the games they want to see developed and give the developers the freedom to experiment, take risks, and design without anyone else compromising their vision. It's the kind of creative luxury that most major, established studios simply can't afford. At least, not until now."
In less than a day, the project hit $400,000 and continued on that trajectory until the $3.3 million finale.
The game will be a downloadable point-and-click adventure game, similar in style to previous games form Double Fine's Tim Shafer like Grim Fandango and Maniac Mansion. The company expects it to take six to eight months to develop.
For more on Kickstarter, see PCMag's Q&A with co-founder Yancey Strickler.