Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarter Club

Avatar Legends leads the pack in an exclusive club -- Kickstarters for tabletop roleplaying game products which have broken the $1M barrier! It is currently the most successful TTRPG Kickstarter in history with a funding total of nearly $10M, and over 80,000 backers.

22 TTRPG campaigns have ever achieved $1M; 8 TTRPG campaigns have done so without offering miniatures, and only 7 which aren't D&D-related. I myself nearly did it, but fell slightly short with a mere $950,000!

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This list comprises Kickstarters specifically for tabletop roleplaying games or supplements which have exceeded $1M. It does not include Kickstarters for miniatures, software, dice, or other accessories.
  • The first TTRPG Kickstarter to break $1M was 7th Sea: Second Edition (2016) by John Wick.
  • The first to break $2M was Strongholds & Streaming (2018) by Matt Colville.
  • The first to break $9M was Avatar Legends (2021) from Magpie Games.
  • The first to break $1M on its first day was Avatar Legends (2021) from Magpie Games.
  • The first (and so far only) to break $1M without physical merch addons (minis, dice, shirts, pins, etc.) is Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying Game (2021) from Connor Alexander.
  • Most entries are Hit Point Press with 3 campaigns over $1M and contributor on two more; and Matt Colville with 3 campaigns over $1M.
  • Ghostfire Gaming has one million-dollar campaign of their own, and is listed as contributor to three others; Hit Point Press has three million-dollar campaigns, and is listed as a contributor on two more.
In the 12 years since Kickstarter's creation in 2009 until the start of 2021, 4 TTRPG projects beat the $1M mark. In the months since March 2021, until the time of writing, a further 18 projects have done so.

$1M+ TTRPG Kickstarters: The Official TTRPG $1M Kickstarter Club

#​
KickstarterCreatorDate EndedBackersAmountFirst Day**Average Pledge
1​
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying GameMagpie GamesSeptember 202181,549$9,533,258$1,150,566 (12%)$117
2​
Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement^⁺MonkeyDMAugust 202219,723$2,692,698$411,135 (15%)$137
3​
Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds^*⁺Hit Point PressNovember 202116,929$2,479,888$349,884 (14%)$147
4​
Strongholds & Streaming^*⁺Matt ColvilleMarch 201828,918$2,121,465$591,556 (28%)$73
5​
Tanares RPG - 5e^*⁺Dragori GamesOctober 20219,403$2,100,242$993,228 (47%)$223
6​
Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying GameMonte Cook GamesMay 202215,061$2,097,715$679,748 (32%)$139
7​
"Flee, Mortals!" - The MCDM Monster Book for 5e^*⁺Matt ColvilleMay 202227,009$2,084,117$788,976 (38%)$77
8​
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Second EditionFree LeagueMarch 202116,591$2,025,288$521,908 (26%)$122
9​
Monty Python's Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme*⁺Exalted FuneralNovember 202215,018$1,933,426$792,724 (41%)$129
10​
Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting^⁺Loot Tavern (Hit Point Press)July 202118,082$1,845,422$259,382 (14%)$102
11​
BLADE RUNNER - The Roleplaying GameFree LeagueMay 202215,323$1,673,567$833,263 (49%)$109
12​
The Seeker's Guide to Twisted Taverns^⁺Eldermancy (Ghostfire Gaming)March 202117,921$1,650,076$211,563 (13%)$92
13​
Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1st Edition Boxed SetAlan GerdingDecember 202115,699$1,405,569$529,134 (38%)$90
14​
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis!^*Matt ColvilleNovember 201919,033$1,372,685$594,330 (43%)$72
15Grim Hollow: The Monster Grimoire^*⁺Ghostfire GamingMay 202115,530$1,348,160$258,640 (19%)$87
16​
7th Sea: Second EditionJohn WickMarch 201611,483$1,316,813$286,290 (22%)$115
17
The Deck of Many Animated Spells, Tarot and More for 5eHit Point PressJune 20209,871$1,310,509$218,381 (16%)$133
18Dungeons of Drakkenheim^*⁺Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)August 202113,376$1,279,240$370,638 (29%)$96
19Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent^*⁺Warchief GamingMay 202110,218$1,260,863$493,947 (39%)$123
20The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book 2^⁺Griffin Macaulay (Hit Point Press)April 202211,710$1,237,197$297,192 (24%)$106
21​
Coyote & Crow the Roleplaying GameConnor AlexanderApril 202116,269$1,073,453$106,515 (10%)$66
22​
Sebastian Crowe's Guide to Drakkenheim^*⁺Dungeon Dudes (Ghostfire Gaming)September 20228,963$1,025,330$422,376 (41%)$114
23Humblewood Campaign Setting for 5e^*⁺Hit Point PressApril 201914,604$1,001,085$58,985 (6%)$69
^D&D
*Includes miniatures
⁺Includes other non-digital merchandise (dice, bags, pins, shirts, coins, etc.)
**First day figures represent first calendar day, not first 24 hours, and are taken from Kicktraq's daily funding stats

Some unusual patterns can be seen above. Most Kickstarters follow the traditional 'U' shaped curved, with a large portion of the funding taking place in the first few and last few days of the campaign, and comparatively slower progress in the middle.
  • Tanares RPG did nearly $1M in its first day, but then support dropped off for the remaining month. This was due to a high-value giveaway to first-day backers.​
  • Humblewood started off slow and then got a big boost in the last 4 days. It's not clear what caused that, but an aggressive final marketing push is a good candidate--they have multiple marketing entries in their collaborators list.​
A Kickstarter which does well will tend to mean later campaigns also do well, as those backers are notified when new Kickstarters by the same creator are launched. Including Ghostfire Gaming (which is involved with 3 campaigns), the list of 17 creators includes 4 who have 2 or more entries.

The average pledge level for a million-dollar campaign is about $100. This is usually reached by including add-ons and merchandizing.
 
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I wonder if Goodman Games OAR 7 Dark Tower will make it? I hope so, I backed it, so here’s my self serving prediction.

I'd be really surprised if it made it to $1M. But despite never actually playing any of their stuff I love Goodman Games, so I hope they figure out a way to get there.
 

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member

Retreater

Legend
I'd be really surprised if it made it to $1M. But despite never actually playing any of their stuff I love Goodman Games, so I hope they figure out a way to get there.
I do support writers and products for systems I don't play. I'm not a fan of Dungeon Crawl Classics (like, at all - it's pretty much anathema to my tastes) and I haven't played a Goodman Games adventure since 3.5. But I do like owning their OAR line for the history and nostalgia, and I definitely want to support Jennell Jaquays (who I consider sort of a spiritual fairy godmother in my development as a DM).
 

Ulfgeir

Hero
Well, Free League didn't quite reach the level set by The One Ring 2e with their Blade Runner rpg. Congrats to them though. They missed the mark by about 500 000 SEK. So roughly 50 00 Euro.
 




After two in May, we have had a whole month go by without a million dollar Kickstarter! We’re overdue one!

And I can't think of anything on the horizon that could qualify. Free League isn't crowdfunding its next Alien scenario, companies with previous big projects are still working on fulfillment (Avatar Legends, Mothership 1e, etc.). My unhealthy habit of watching TTRPG Kickstarters like it's a spectator sport is really taking a hit!
 

Eyes of Nine

Everything's Fine
After two in May, we have had a whole month go by without a million dollar Kickstarter! We’re overdue one!
But we'll probably get the opposite with ZineQuest 4 coming in a few weeks. And I'll be interested to see how this ZQ does in comparison to others due to change in month and the competition from ZiMo this past Feb.
 

After two in May, we have had a whole month go by without a million dollar Kickstarter! We’re overdue one!
Fear not! My upcoming adventure module Swords Of The Broccoli Men (Who Are Real Actual Men And Not Women Who Are By Nature Not Suited To Adventuring And Of Course There’s No Trans Broccoli That’s Just Unrealistic) In The Tomb Of The Demonwalruslich will be arriving on Kickstarter any day now, where it will no doubt smash all pledge records.

Production is well under way. I mean, I’ve written AT LEAST seventeen words in a Word document already, so I’m confident that one last push will see us fill out the las remaining 652 pages and hit our projected fulfilment date of next Tuesday. The cover art is a lavish colour piece that doesn’t actually exist yet but which I described at great length to an uninterested bartender at 3am a while back. I’m confident Larry Elmore will choose to be involved once he realises we exist.

Don’t miss out!
 


Hit Point Press has multiple million dollar campaigns and just launched a new Kickstarter.


Doesn't look like this one will hit $1M. There might be other 3PP 5e projects on the horizon that aren't on my radar, but right now it's looking like lean times for RPG blockbusters on KS.

Which is probably good news for Zinequest next month!
 



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