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Pillars of Eternity 2 becomes the most backed game on Fig

Current funding pledge hits $3.1m

RPG specialists Obsidian has generated over $3m on crowdfunding platform Fig with over two days remaining.

The firm is funding Pillars of Eternity 2, the sequel to the 2015 game that generated almost $4m on Kickstarter during 2012 (and becoming the biggest success on the platform at that time).

Its the latest high-profile crowdfunding game to generate significant sums on Fig. All three titles that have generated more than $3m had previously enjoyed success on Kickstarter. InXile's Wasteland 3 generated $3.1m on Fig (whereas Wasteland 2 generated $3m on Kickstarter) and Double Fine's Psychonauts 2 made $3.8m on Fig (whereas Broken age generated $3.3m on Kickstarter). Pillars of Eternity 2 may not have broken the revenue record just yet, but it has the highest number of backers at 27,067.

The heads of all three of these companies, Feargus Urquhart of Obsidian, Brian Fargo of Inxile and Tim Schafer of Double Fine, all sit on the advisory board of Fig.

Fig's biggest difference to Kickstarter is its investment scheme, where backers can actively invest in the game. It costs $1,000 to get a share in Pillars of Eternity 2, and over 48% of that $3.1m has been generated via investment, which is actually slightly below the average for Fig as a platform.

Of course, these games are big sequels from high profile developers, and are exceptions to the recent challenges facing crowd-funding. 2016 was a tough year for crowd-funding with just over $20m generated (from around 325 successful projects), only marginally better than 2014 and the second-worst year since Double Fine made crowdfunding famous in 2012.

There were fewer projects that came to either crowd-funding platform last year, and a reduction in the number of high profile projects. Most notable, John Romero's Blackroom project was put on hold after struggling to generate interest. By comparison, 2015's big Kickstarter succcesses included Shenmue 3, Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained.

Fig, however, has seen growth - albeit from a much smaller base. And its recent introduction of new investment and a game finishing programme, suggests it is eager to expand significantly in 2017.