Blade Runner: The Next Million Dollar Kickstarter?

Free League's Blade Runner Kickstarter has just launched, and is tearing through stretch goals after funding in just 3 minutes. It looks very likely that this will be the company's second million dollar Kickstarter (following last year's The One Ring campaign, which raised over $2M). It will also be the third million dollar Kickstarter in the last month, following Matt Colville's Flee Mortals!, and Monte Cook Games' Old Gods of Appalachia.

Blade Runner was voted the Most Anticipated TTRPG of 2022 by readers of EN World right here.

Free League's other million dollar Kickstarter, The One Ring, did $521K on the first day and finished with $2M. Compared to the other million dollar campaigns in the last few weeks --

• Flee Mortals! did $788K on the first day.
• Old Gods of Appalachia did $679K on the first day.
• Only one campaign has done $1M+ on day 1, and that was Avatar Legends with $1.15M on the first day.

Check Out These Bladerunner RPG Previews

Free League has shared some previews of its Bladerunner RPG, which comes to Kickstarter next week on May 3rd and looks very likely to be the third million dollar Kickstarter in the last month.

www.enworld.org

BLADE RUNNER – The Roleplaying Game

Walk the neon-noir streets of Los Angeles 2037 in the official BLADE RUNNER RPG from Free League Publishing and Alcon Entertainment.

www.kickstarter.com

 

[Morrus]

Made it to Top 3 in roughly 12 hours. Another half day to go to try to beat Tanares. To be continued...

For the chart, I’m taking Kicktraq’s ‘day 1’ stats, which isn’t the same as the first 24 hours. There’s no way to historically determine first 24 hours for campaigns.

 

[darjr]

$925

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Here's my pointless list of predictions for some additional stretch goals (not necessarily in this order, and I'm sure I'm wrong).

Off World brochure (handout, not a real guide)
Black dice w/red characters
Item cards
VK Test script (or a script generator, since it should be different from the original movie's)
Something on other side of LA map
Solo mode at 20M SEK (make em work for it!)

 

[AverageMojito]

For the chart, I’m taking Kicktraq’s ‘day 1’ stats, which isn’t the same as the first 24 hours. There’s no way to historically determine first 24 hours for campaigns.

Got it. From what I figured through Google, Kicktraq uses GMT-5 timezone. I guess Top 3 is confirmed, then, with Tanares second and Avatar the undisputed 1st-day champion, so far.

 

[eyeheartawk]

"You did it Deckard, you have finally become the BLADERUNNER"

 

[Sir Brennen]

You could just go with the PDF only option.

That... resolves none of the issues I stated. I'd rather not play a physical product on my bookshelf than a PDF on my hard drive, anyway.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I'm not overly fond of them either, but for the most part I support a KS based on the core product. A lot of times the stretch goals really don't add a lot in my opinion even when some of them are kind of neat.

I did say "not a deal breaker".

I also find that too many KS's stretch goals are often just... "stuff". I don't need additional special tokens or cards or other miscellanea that I then have to figure out storage for, and remember I even have when I pull one of the many RPG books off my shelf.

Stretch goals for additional content in the book? Heck yeah!

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I did say "not a deal breaker".

I also find that too many KS's stretch goals are often just... "stuff". I don't need additional special tokens or cards or other miscellanea that I then have to figure out storage for, and remember I even have when I pull one of the many RPG books off my shelf.

Stretch goals for additional content in the book? Heck yeah!

I usually agree about stretch goal knick knacks. I particularly dislike it when TTRPG campaigns assume everyone's super jazzed about minis. But I don't think the stretch goals in this case are superfluous or purely for collectors. For example, I found the initiative cards handy in Twilight 2000. The chase cards look like a fun way to play out pursuits. And the additional maps and locations and NPCs added to this campaign's starter set will also be available digitally for all backers, like all of the starter set-related goals (except for the dice, obviously).

In other words, I don't see any dumb campaign coin stretch goals or similar in this campaign, or other FL Kickstarters. It's all stuff that's either obviously useful or could wind up being handy, even if only in PDF form.

Plus, if you do get the physical starter set (the only way you're getting those cards and such), it all just fits in that same box....

 

[Sir Brennen]

Plus, if you do get the physical starter set (the only way you're getting those cards and such), it all just fits in that same box....

Yeah, the fact that the Starter Set is a physical box is helpful with storage of all the stretch goal extras.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Yeah, the fact that the Starter Set is a physical box is helpful with storage of all the stretch goal extras.

To be honest, I don't see any of this game's stretch goals as extras, or really stretch goals at all. They're teasing out the product as it was always planned, and getting people fired up on Kickstarter in the process. Look at how finished all of the preview layouts and materials are, and the fact that you really can't play the game with just one set of four dice (an early stretch goal), so it was always going to be two sets included in the starter set (a later stretch goal).

Another way of thinking about it--the starter set without any of the unlocked stretch goals would have been a terrible product, and practically an empty box compared to what's in the Alien starter set. This is a fun way to reveal components they knew would go into it.

I don't begrudge them that approach. They know what previous campaigns have done, and how to run an exciting campaign, while also not digging a stretch goal ditch they can't get out of. I mean, look at how short the campaign is, compared to other major campaigns they've done. Just 24 days total. They have this thing mapped out and locked in, preview PDF ready to go. This is just good marketing. (And I'm a sucker for it myself, given how often I've compulsively reloading that page!)