They asked for $1 to save a 2008 MMORPG and fans gave $1.8 million: the AdventureQuest Worlds case

AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity

AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity has just concluded one of the most bizarre yet effective Kickstarter campaigns in the history of video game crowdfunding. Artix Entertainment set a funding goal of $1, but raised $1.8 million from over 23,000 backers in about a month, and is now finally completing a port to Unity that they have been chasing for nearly a decade. All of this was accomplished without a publisher, without intermediaries, and with a community that responded in an entirely unexpected way, even for those who launched the campaign.

A Browser-based MMORPG from 2008

AdventureQuest Worlds is a browser-based MMORPG published by Artix Entertainment in 2008, directly inheriting from the older AdventureQuest, a single-player Flash RPG launched in 2002 that had already built a solid fan base thanks to its total accessibility: all you needed was a browser to play, with no downloads or powerful hardware required, which was certainly uncommon at the time. With AQW, Artix added a massive multiplayer dimension: players create a character by choosing from four starting classes (Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Healer), explore the world and lore, fight monsters cooperatively, advance through arc-narratives, and participate in seasonal events that over the years have featured guest stars like Korn, They Might Be Giants, and Elvira. In 18 years of weekly updates, the game has accumulated over 60,000 items, more than 5,000 monsters, and 10,000 quests.

However, the entire infrastructure of AdventureQuest Worlds relied on Adobe Flash, the same technology that powered the vast majority of browser games in the 2000s. In July 2017, Adobe officially announced the end of Flash support, in agreement with Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Mozilla, with a deadline set for December 31, 2020, after which the player would stop receiving security updates and Flash content would be actively blocked by browsers. For Artix, that deadline arrived at a particularly inconvenient time: as early as 2016, the studio had announced a port to Unity, which had since been on hold. The death of Flash forced the studio to focus in the short term on the survival of the game, leading to a further delay in the structural migration to the new engine. This was a temporary platform while awaiting the resumption of conversion work to Unity.

The strategy chosen by Artix to fund AQW: Infinity is as simple as it is effective in terms of communication: set a $1 goal on Kickstarter, knowing the game was already in development regardless of the funds raised. "We are developing this game regardless of everything," the developers wrote on the official campaign page.

"The goal has always been to reach the stretch goals. But this way we can boast that we have created the Kickstarter campaign with the highest funding percentage in history. It's a bit… strange, but hey, it's fun to write crazy numbers like 1,821,106%." The campaign surpassed $750,000 in the first 24 hours and closed on April 6 with over $1.8 million raised from more than 23,000 backers.

The reward system is structured in tiers starting from $5 for basic access to Alpha and exclusive content, up to $5,000 for those who wish to design custom weapons and armor sets that will enter the game. The extra funds beyond Artix's internal plans will be used to accelerate the conversion of the original game's content by involving additional artists and developers, without the use of generative AI: a choice that the studio explicitly stated in its official communications.

The choice of Unity as the target engine is not coincidental. According to 2023 data, Unity is used by 82% of indie developers for their commercial projects, and by more than half of all games published on Steam. Its free availability and native compatibility with PC, Android, and iOS make it the go-to choice for those looking to reach all platforms without having to create separate porting pipelines. Thanks to the migration, AQW: Infinity will be available on Steam, Android, and iOS with cross-platform play, and anyone with an account on the original game will be able to transfer everything, meaning items, classes, and progress, without losing anything. The first alpha test sessions on Steam are expected by the end of April 2026.

"The overwhelming love and support that AdventureQuest Worlds: Infinity has received has exceeded our wildest expectations," wrote Artix Entertainment. "We have always said that we create our games for and with you. So thank you. On behalf of ALL of us... thank you!"