Popular YouTube network Yogscast has confirmed that Kickstarter-funded sandbox game Yogventures has been cancelled.

The project raised $570,000 during its 2012 Kickstarter campaign and subsequently went into development at indie studio Winterkewl Games.

Originally planned for release in 2013, the project is no longer due to see the light of day. Winterkewl is in danger of going out of business and the game has been disowned by Yogscast, Eurogamer reports.

"As you may have heard, Winterkewl Games have stopped work on Yogventures - but this is actually a good thing," Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley wrote in an email to the game's 13,647 backers, five of whom had pledged over $10,000 to Yogventures. "The project was proving too ambitious and difficult for them to complete with their six-man team.

"While this was Winterkewl's project, we put a lot of time, energy and effort into trying to help them realise their dream. Since we heard the news, we've been working hard behind the scenes to make sure that you still get awesome stuff and cool experiences.

"Although we're under no obligation to do anything, instead we're going to do our best to make this right, and make you really glad you backed the project!

"So to begin with we're very lucky to have met a team of really smart guys at Nerd Kingdom who ran their own Kickstarter for a very similar game called TUG (http://www.nerdkingdom.com/game/). They have a larger team of engineers and programmers who are creating a game that is much further along in development.

"In many ways TUG is the game we were hoping Winterkewl would create - and it has huge potential for the future. We've been playing the Early Access version on Steam and you'll soon be able to see us playing the game on Yogscast channels.

"So - as a backer or early-access purchaser of Yogventures, we are delighted to be able to deliver a steam key to redeem a full copy of TUG as soon as we can.

"Because Yogventures was never completed it's going to be impossible to deliver the rewards relating the finished game. However we'll do everything we can to find cool things to take their place."

Kickstarter's FAQ page states that "it's the project creator's responsibility to complete their project". Naturally, many backers simply want a refund, but the chances of this appear slim, with lead developer Kris Vale saying the studio may be forced to file for bankruptcy.

Posted: Jul 18, 2014 9:03 am
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/471645/yogventures-kickstarter-project-axed/