The Kickstarter dream died - Despite almost €300,000 raised, Alzara Radiant Echoes to shut down

Studio Camelia had big dreams for Kickstarter project Alzara Radiant Echoes, a game intended as a tribute to JRPGs from days gone by. But despite raising almost €300,000 from fans, which was to be used to release a demo and tour gaming fairs, it all ended in failure.

External partners failed to materialise and the money from Kickstarter was quickly burned through, forcing Studio Camelia to close its doors and shut down all work on Alzara Radiant Echoes. For those who backed the game on Kickstarter, a cold shower awaited, as some refunds will not be made. The money is gone and several legal proceedings related to the project are currently underway.

The company wrote to its backers on Kickstarter:

"The studio's liquidation was declared on April 28th. At the time of writing, various legal procedures are underway and will be ongoing for some time. As you can imagine, we are unable to share the details of these procedures, but they pertain to the liquidation of a company. ALZARA Radiant Echoes is now on an indefinite pause. There is a slim chance that a third party might one day step in and offer to take over the project. If that happens, the game would inevitably take a different direction than what was presented during the campaign, but hopefully for the better!"

This is a brutal reminder that Kickstarters are always associated with a lot of risk, and what has now happened with Alzara Radiant Echoes is damn sad, but hardly unique. Lots of hype, followed by a sudden halt.

Was Alzara Radiant Echoes something you were looking forward to?