Xbox One, PS4, PC non-fantasy RPG Kingdom Come closes with $1.8 million

The Kickstarter campaign for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, the fantasy-free role-playing game from Mafia designer Daniel Vavra and Warhorse Studios, concluded today with £1,106,371 ($1.8 million). That's well above its original £300,000 ($499,000) funding target.

Because funding reached £1,000,000, dogs and various dog-related quests will be featured in the game. That's not a joke. Kingdom Come: Deliverance was also recently approved for release on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, alongside the PC. While Vavra and his colleagues are probably popping champagne bottles at the moment, they weren't always so optimistic.

"A month ago, we were all pretty nervous. After almost two years of struggle, we faced a do-or-die situation," Vavra said in a Kickstarter update. "There was no other chance to get financing for our game than doing a crowdfunding campaign. No publisher was willing to risk their money on a weird, historical game for a 'niche' audience. No investor was going to step in without proof that their investment was going to pay off."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance reaching its funding target proves the publishers wrong, Vavra said. They said the market for a magic-less medieval RPG is too niche, but they were wrong, Vavra argues.

"Not only do people not need fantasy or magic or dragons to enjoy a game, they desperately want games without them," he said.

The Kingdom Come: Deliverance Kickstarter now sits among the 30 most-funded Kickstarter projects--of any kind--in history and in the top 15 video game projects. The final funding tally of £1,106,371 came from 35,384 backers, who contributed an average of $52 each.

Warhorse Studios will continue to accept donations via its website.

"So, what’s next? Now we have to make the game! We feel a lot of responsibility and obligation to deliver on our vision after so many people put so much of their trust into our project. It’s going to be hard to satisfy all those expectations, but we will do all we can not to disappoint you," Vavra said.

To do that, Warhorse Studios will increase its headcount to around 50 people. New hires include some staffers affected by the recent reorganization at Mafia studio 2K Czech, Vavra said.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance launches in alpha in about six months to those who backed the game with £25 or more. A beta for the game is expected in mid-2013, while the full version of Act 1 is scheduled to arrive sometime later.