Renegade Kid is one of the best known download developers on the 3DS, in particular, with Mutant Mudds perhaps the most popular of its titles to date. There are also exciting things on the way, with Moon Chronicles bringing episodic play to the the 3DS eShop and Treasurenauts looking like a colourful 2D romp.
There are plenty of positives for the studio, then, though it did suffer a setback recently when its Cult County Kickstarter campaign fell well short, reaching less than 10% of its goal. Whether these struggles were due to the fact it was a new IP, because it was an episodic title, or simply due to the lofty $580,000 target, it was clearly a major disappointment for the company.
Co-founder Jools Watsham stated that the developer would look into other options after the campaign closed, and has posted a message to suggest that the team is looking to return to its 2D roots, while the first-person horror title drops back.
Watsham has also stated that there'll be no Kickstarter funding for this project, so it looks like this will be developed within the company's existing and conventional business.
Were you disappointed with the struggles of the Cult County campaign, and are you excited by the suggestion of an experimental, pixel-based 2D title from Renegade Kid? Fans of the studio still have plenty to look forward to, it seems.
Comments 42
So I guess Cult County has been scrapped?
I think the tittle was too different for people to be comfortable with funding. It wasn't on the 3DS (until late in the kickstarter) it was in 3D, it was episodic and it was horror. The large goal was an off-put too. I hope they find a way to make it work though.
Teasing the next game when Treasurenauts still has no solid release date. I really don't understand this.
Good to see them moving on but I'm personally getting a bit tired of pixel art and 2D, whereas horror fps was something I was really looking forward to. Oh well.
@WebHead I'm pretty sure it's just on put on hiatus for now.
Sucks they don't get to make Cult County, but they do have other titles in the works. Treasurenauts, Moon Chronicles and Mutant Mudds 2 all look/sound great, and with CC off the table, maybe they'll get more focus.
@CrabGats even if thats the case, i don't see it happening anytime soon, and definitely not in the same form. It's not like they just missed their target... They didn't even get 10% of it. It was a complete failure. A failed KS communicates to the developer that there isn't enough interest in the project to justify a release. Why make it if they'd only be able to make back 10% of what they spent on it?
@WebHead
Renegade Kid still wants to make Cult County, but it'll probably have to be put on hiatus until they find an alternate source of funding.
http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/3/5678648/cult-county-presses-ahead-despite-kickstarter-failure
Mutant Mudds sequel?
@WebHead
They just said that they are "exploring other options." Mentioning that they may make just one episode to see how well it does. It's all talk though, nothing solid.
I like the experimental part of that. We will see what they come up with.
Can't wait for Treasurenauts Mr Watsham!
The problem wasn't the cults, it was that the debacle was really badly handled from the get-go!
The tweet could read a little mean spirited lol.
"We now know that you guys dont want episodic 3d horror games on other consoles, so here's another 2d pixel-y thing"
They could still experiment with Cult County. Maybe change up the genre a little instead of making an episodic horror game that's a mix of Outlast and Condemned.
That's a bummer... Well, like others have said, I'm still looking forward to Treasurenauts, Moon, those additional levels for 3DS Mutant Mudds, and MM2. It seems like they've got enough to work on. Keep on keeping on Renegade Kid!
Ok I'm getting a little annoyed here. Moon Chronicles or Treasurenauts still haven't released.
@Stu13 I agree. Finish one thing before starting another. Why make us wait as you develop many games at once, stretching development time out considerably?
I really wanted cult county but no way I'll invest in a kick starter fun. Most of those games never happen and you're left with nothing to show. If it does ever come out im 100% getting it though.
Maybe this will be at E3.
I didn't contribute to the kickstarter because I wasn't interested in the game really. 3d shooters don't really impress me on the 3ds. It was a really high goal too.
AG, if you plan on getting the game anyway there's no reason not to pledge. You only have to pay if the goal is reached.
Where is Moon Chronicles? We used to have a release date and when that passed now all we got is Q2...I love Sci-fi and am getting a little tired of 8-bit platforming rehashes so this looked to be something totally refreshing.
This says alot about the state of the 3DS market & what will sell. Most fans just didn't seem to want an FPS on their handhelds & I probably agree. It's tough to do FPS's on handhelds. Killzone Mercenary is the best looking/playing FPS I've played on a handheld and I honestly can't really name another good FPS that has come out on a handheld. Even the few that were on PSP weren't that great. Maybe too many people have just been burned by lackluster titles in that genre to really care ll that much.
Honestly the new game sounds far more enticing to me whereas I wasn't interested in the horror game at all. I am scared by the genre. I thought horror games sold well though, so 10% seems low. Maybe others wanted RK to create more of the games they have done really well making. I know I'm always craving solid sides-scrollers.
"It has pixels and stuff"
Excuse me? Are you taking this seriously at all? It's understandable that you're bummed out since Cult County failed hard, but relax. You're making it seem like you don't even care...
What the heck? Why don't they just focus on one of the games they have announced? Treasurenauts, Mutant Mudds 2, Moon Chronicles, Cult County...
I know that a lot can be read into text without hearing the tone of someone's voice, but please don't assume the tone of my tweet was with a sigh or an uncaring voice.
I love pixel games. If I could develop pixel games for the 3DS until the end of time, I would be a very happy person. Sometimes we like to branch out, like with Moon Chronicles, ATV Wild Ride 3D, and Cult County, but pixels is where I feel the most at home.
So, please read my tweet with a sense of enthusiasm. Developing an experimental pixel game is exciting and therapeutic for me. Like a decompression chamber to realign my soul.
In regards to our other games, Moon Chronicles episode 1 has been completed - it has for quite some time now, in fact. We're now working with Nintendo to make sure its ready for release in the (very) near future.
Treasurenauts is progressing very well. We'll have more news on it soon.
Great news. What about the Mutant Mudds 3DS update? Last I heard, it was close to submission, but I heard nothing since.
@RenegadeJools
Thanks for the update!
Almost sounds like they'll make a pixel game just out of spite. Hehe.
It seems like they were too big for their britches. They thought we wanted to see them do something new, but its too early- people aren't done wanting 2D retro games from them yet. Which is bad, seeing as they seem ready to move on.
@bizcuthammer The thing is, they were working on it looong before Kickstarter, as a 3DS exclusive. They wanted a console release, so they started a Kickstarter to see if they could get the money. Not to mention they said they're "discussing other options". Not even in a different form, I'm sure we'll see it one day.
I like RK but they need to release the games they have developing before moving on to new projects.
They probably should not have announced this so early. The fact that they already have projects in the pipeline and the rsther nonchalant attitude of the announcement may have some gamers a bit learly that they are stretching themselves thin and unfocused...which can be off putting. That said I'm looking forward to Moon Chronicles and I wish them best of luck
To be fair, they were asking for a TON of money on their kickstarter for Cult County, so not very surprise that it didn't reach its goal, but good to see that they have moved on
@RenegadeJools
Very cool to hear. Treasure and Moon S1 are my top two anticipated eShop games. Can't wait to download them.
They must’ve been confident that could’ve raised $580k. It’s not like they’re as popular as Keiji Inafune and Megaman to raise $1mil in 1-2 days after all A smaller goal would’ve helped.
Where is moon chronicles it was suppose to come out on march what happened?
Treasurenauts looks great and I really dug Mutant Mudds, so I'm happy with this news.
Not that I don't like 3D games, but 2D platformers are always going to be my gaming bread and butter. I've never had enough of this genre and probably never will.
@midnafanboy It was submitted to Nintendo in March, telling from twitter posts. There's also a post from Jools a few posts above that says the game is complete and should be coming out very soon.
@RenegadeJools Who wouldn't like pixels (and "stuff", as you said)?!? I think pixels work great and make it possible to do some clever games even for slightly less powerful consoles.
By the way, is Mutant Mudds for 3DS getting it's update soon?
@RenegadeJools ATV wild Ride was a Great game Jools. I wish more people had jumped on Board with our Saturday night races. Those who did had an excellent time we got ranked online. its one of the few online games for 3ds done absolutely right. I hope to see more titles from you soon. ATV played pretty flawless online. Thanks for that experience
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