The Splinterlands: UNTAMED crowdfunding campaign is now completed and, honestly, we're not even sure what to say about it. To call it a "success" would be a massive understatement and we feel a bit like a broken record when we continually say how grateful and amazed we are by the amount of support, commitment, and also faith that all of you have put into this project.
Between the Kickstarter, Fundition, and some private contributions, the total amount raised from this campaign comes to approximately $305,000! We knew the $25k goal was low, and our internal goal was to raise around the same amount as our first crowdfunding campaign last year which was in the $80 - $100k range. Clearly we underestimated...by a LOT!
We have always been highly motivated to make this game a huge success, but after seeing a turnout like this it takes things to the next level for the entire Splinterlands team. We are going to work tirelessly and do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone who participated in this crowdfunding event is highly rewarded and that anyone who did not participate will be kicking themselves for missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Crowdfunding Rewards
We know that everyone is excited to get their rewards, and we're excited to get them to you! It's going to take some time, though, so please bear with us. Kickstarter takes 1 - 2 weeks to process all of the payments and release the funds. In the meantime we'll be sending out surveys to all participants so you can let us know how you would like to apply any overpledged amounts and any other information we need to know.
We will also provide instructions for anyone who contributed through Fundition to claim their contribution and indicate their desired rewards, so please keep an eye out for that.
Once all of the digital rewards have been distributed, which we expect to take 2 - 3 weeks, then the Untamed edition will be released and you will be able to open your packs and take the new cards out for a spin on the battlefield! The first (and most likely second) Untamed airdrop is planned to take place a week or two after the release of Untamed, when things have calmed down a bit. All packs received via the crowdfunding campaign will be eligible for all of the Untamed airdrops!
The physical rewards will take a bit longer as we need to get the items ordered, produced, and shipped out. We are super excited about these and will do our best to get them out to everyone as quickly as possible. We will send out regular updates to keep everyone posted on the progress.
Use of Funds & Future Plans
Now we would like to switch gears for a bit and talk about what we plan to do with the funds we've raised.
The next 6 to 12 months for Splinterlands are going to be primarily focused on growth, and a significant portion of the funds raised from this campaign and from general pack sales will be put towards that. We currently have about 2,500 daily active players and, while that is a great start, it's still pretty tiny. We have said in the past that our goal is to grow that number by 10X and we still firmly believe that is achievable. Now it's time to start making that happen.
We have a number of initiatives that are either already underway or are starting in the very near future that are focused on growth of the game, including:
- Free to Play Accounts - This was just recently released and is a key part of converting new users to active players.
- Mobile App - This is admittedly a bigger project than we initially anticipated, but it is coming along very nicely and will be a key part of our growth plan.
- Asynchronous Tournaments - These will allow us to have many more people participating in tournaments which will help bring in some larger tournament sponsors with larger prizes and generate some good PR.
- Integrations with Other Blockchain Platforms and Cryptocurrencies - We have already mentioned that we are working on allowing cards to be transferred to ERC-721 tokens on Ethereum where they can be bought/sold on sites like OpenSea, and we also have integrations with a number of other large blockchain platforms and communities in the works similar to what we recently did with Tron and the SesameSeed organization that we hope to announce in the near future.
- Traditional Marketing - We are starting to experiment with using some traditional marketing channels to bring new players into the game. We are closely monitoring the results from these campaigns and if we find some that are showing a consistent, positive ROI then we will start to increase our spend considerably.
It's important to note that, even though growth will be the primary focus, we still also plan to keep working on new and rewarding features for our current players. These include an achievements system, guild wars, a campaign mode, and expansions! A portion of the funds from this campaign will be used to expand our team size so that we can work on both of these initiatives in parallel.
Thank You!!!
Once again the Splinterlands community - you - has surpassed all expectations, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now it's on us to put the resources that you have provided to work and deliver a world class gaming product that heavily rewards the early adopters.
Finally, here's a recap of the expected timeline for the crowdfund rewards and Untamed:
- Digital rewards delivered: 2-3 weeks
- Untamed release: Shortly after digital rewards
- Untamed airdrop(s): Early December
- Physical rewards: End of 2019 / early 2020
Stay tuned for more updates from the Splinterlands!
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