The Coral Island Kickstarter has concluded and it's been a huge success: 36,373 backers pledged a total of $1.6 million to support this upcoming Farming RPG.
Coral Island is firmly in the Farming RPG genre and was first announced earlier this year. If you're a fan of games such as Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon, you'll probably find something to love in this inaugural game from Indonesian developer Stairway Games. That's not to say it won't have some new goodies for players to enjoy, though — Coral Island aims to add an underwater diving element, a vibrant cast of characters, and a fair amount of customization for your home.
Farming RPG fans are pretty dedicated as a general rule and it seems that this upcoming game has resonated with them judging by the game's response on Kickstarter; the game was fully funded in less than two days. If all goes well, they should have their hands on this upcoming game in less than a year.
The Coral Island Kickstarter Beat Expectations
The Coral Island Kickstarter initially asked backers for a total of $70,000 to produce the game. Stairway Games got a lot more than it asked for — the final total clocks in at $1,639,338, nearly 25 times what the developer asked for, and placing it well in the top 150 all-time gaming projects on Kickstarter. That's certainly not bad for a developer's first game.
The Kickstarter campaign blew through all 16 Stretch Goals with time to spare. The finished product will include more characters than initially planned, an expansion to the roster of characters you can romance, and unique NPC outfits for each of the game's four seasons. It's not just about extra content, though — multiplayer, console ports, modding support, and an endgame "Island Hopping" mode will help contribute to the longevity of the game, too.
"This is beyond our wildest dreams." – Stairway Games
Stairway Games clearly did not expect the level of support it received; its most recent Backer Update does a fine job of encapsulating the crazy level of response the game received from its backers.
"It has been an incredible 30 days," today's Backer Update began. "We can't thank you enough for backing and supporting Coral Island. Not only are we fully funded, but we also reached all of the stretch goals. This is beyond our wildest dreams."
"We feel so lucky to be developing Coral Island alongside you all. It's been heartwarming to see the community grow around Coral Island. From actively participating in Discord, helping us answer questions in and out of Kickstarter, and providing awesome feedback/suggestions, we're thrilled you'll be joining us on this journey!"
When is the Coral Island Release Date?
The Coral Island release date will be sometime in October 2021. The game's Kickstarter campaign states that an Alpha is expected to be delivered to qualifying backers in June of 2021.
For now, Stairway Games is working on setting up Backerkit and a pre-order option for people who have missed the campaign. If this upcoming Farming RPG seems like your kind of jam, you can add Coral Island to your wishlist on Steam. You can also join Stairway Games' Discord server.
What do you think of the success of the Coral Island Kickstarter? Do you think this Farming RPG will be able to launch before the end of 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
