I never looked into actual numbers behind the games until recently,i was shocked to see how little is actually spent on the games.What i have found is it can typically be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2,so i would say since Robert's has proven to NOT be very organized as a producer,that at least 1/2 of your money intended for the game has not been spent on the game.I started uncovering actual value of games when i did a simple Google search for most costly games.CODMW2 one of my fave games of all time only cost 50/200 million budget so 1/4.I was more interested in Destiny2 because to me the game is crap,well 140/500 so again 1/3,still looks pretty bad.
It would make sense,i commented on what i saw and how much i thought looked to be invested in the game so far and was well under 50,like about 20 million at best.Obviously a lot of that money is just sitting in their coffers,most claimed as a buffer for future years but even still i am pretty sure there is a limit with a non profit which i am also sure Robert's is claiming.
Would be more fun to find out how and where he hides all this money from taxes,no way could he be that incompetent to have spent it all,just no way.Hey that's why his partner is a lawyer and he has carried that guy with him his entire career.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
It literally may be the worst 300million ever spent , SC is in an inexuseable state of bugs/ exploits/errors/crashes/ also lacking fundamental features and content for that amount of money ...
It literally may be the worst 300million ever spent , SC is in an inexuseable state of bugs/ exploits/errors/crashes/ also lacking fundamental features and content for that amount of money ...
It is just about everything wrong with crowdfunded mmorpgs and is a black eye on crowdfunding in general.
The real question is, how do they continue to rake in many millions of additional dollars even after that is widely known?
If Chris ran off with whatever cash is available and they closed up shop the White Knights will be dancing and prancing about how they already got their moneys worth. That's how bad the fanboi'ism is for this "game"
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Based on the accounts they published c. end 2019 and end 2018 I don't believe so. I also suspect the investor money is ring fenced as well - based on what has been said - and is being drip fed over time to pay for the "marketing" stuff (including the alpha server, convention stuff etc.) going forward. This is an assumption but a "ring fence" would mean that if the company folded any unspent money would default to the "investor".
5 investors or 1? Keith Calder (1) and Clive Calder (2) collectively make up Calder Family Office (3). Snoot Entertainment (4) is Keith Calder + another and ITG (5) were the ones who arranged the investment. So I would say just 1 "investment" even if 5 "investors" are listed.
That said there was the share swap they did with the software company that works on SC. No money involved so not an "investment" as such but they do own a tiny bit of the company.
And as this is an investment which will be governed by a contract they will have much more "power" than folks who buy a few shares on the stock market (and then rarely use their vote sadly).
That the Calders exercised an option they had negotiated to buy more shares is telling imo. c. $69M is a serious sum. They must see a path to profit.
Which means the game has to launch.
Ship sales don't hack it. Ship sales i.e. sales of the game - basically the same as e.g. CU etc selling character slots - have only really been covering costs up until the end of 2019. Why - presumably - they got the investment. Life of the edge - i.e. 90 days - gets uncomfortable when you have a 500+ person wage bill.
I suggested Destiny - its a space game that we know from court filings sold at least 20M (and then a lot more). Sure Witcher 3 didn't (not a noted commercial success unlike Skyrim) nor did Freddy Frog Crosses the Road. The Calders - we have to assume - see something more like Destiny.
I just was this comment on MOP. Is it true that CIG was close to running out of cash?
oldandgrumpy
You do realize that the funding chart was going up up right at the time CIG were seeking bail out money from Calders. Their own accounts show they were very close to going under at that time.
I just was this comment on MOP. Is it true that CIG was close to running out of cash?
oldandgrumpy
You do realize that the funding chart was going up up right at the time CIG were seeking bail out money from Calders. Their own accounts show they were very close to going under at that time.
Yes. On paper at least. CIG cannot have been that concerned though because it was not as if they started layoffs or anything.
I don't know how much money CIG have received in total but just adding the sales and Calder's investments puts them at $363.5 million.
They have spent at least $335 million of that. It is costing them approximately $5 million a month as things stand.
I just was this comment on MOP. Is it true that CIG was close to running out of cash?
oldandgrumpy
You do realize that the funding chart was going up up right at the time CIG were seeking bail out money from Calders. Their own accounts show they were very close to going under at that time.
Yes. On paper at least. CIG cannot have been that concerned though because it was not as if they started layoffs or anything.
I don't know how much money CIG have received in total but just adding the sales and Calder's investments puts them at $363.5 million.
They have spent at least $335 million of that. It is costing them approximately $5 million a month as things stand.
God, how much money are they going to need before they finally have a finished product at the current rate of development? $500 million? More?
At least the SQ42 Beta is around the corner and not replaced with the confidence inspiring date of “whenever.”
Money raised used as a milestone, as an indication of the succes of the game that is supposedly being built with it. There is no connection whatsoever and the focus on this “succes” is ridiculous. We could also “celebrate” every delay or every month the game doesn’t release, those are just as big an indication of the games succes.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Still think 300$Millions spread throughout 8 years is a lot for AAA studios?
Oh my sweet summer child...
Anthem made 100$Millions on it's First Month alone.
Fortnite makes $billions per year selling skins to kids..
GTA Online generated 500$millions last year alone ...
EA / Take2 make billions per years selling FiFA/NBA packs to kids...
BuT sTaR CiTiZeN...
Comparing profit made by fully released games with funding needed to create a game still in alpha, seems legit.
And yes, there have been games that took longer to develop, even games that were more expensive, but those are exceptions and you know this. Funny part, they made it to release with that money and time and SC is nowhere near release. So again, a nice comparison, flawed though, again.
I like your comic though, it shows deaf people endlessly staring at the jpeg of a starship
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Comparing profit made by fully released games with funding needed to create a game still in alpha, seems legit.
And yes, there have been games that took longer to develop, even games that were more expensive, but those are exceptions and you know this. Funny part, they made it to release with that money and time and SC is nowhere near release. So again, a nice comparison, flawed though, again.
I like your comic though, it shows deaf people endlessly staring at the jpeg of a starship
I'm pointing out that 300$millions spread out by 8 years is nothing considering that involved creating a company from scratch and building a mmo & single-player game whille paying for live servers and community support staff.
They aren't making profit for shareholders but investing into into the games development.
If they were in it for the money they wouldn't keep hiring devs every year or hire so many hollywood actors.
I mean Mark Hamill would be enough for just about anybody...
They wouldn't keep spending money and time upgrading legacy assets multiple times instead of making new ones if their focus was stashing money.
These money articles are always magnets for controversy and salty commenters to relief their frustrations without needing to know anything about the game or thoughtfull reasoning.
I just was this comment on MOP. Is it true that CIG was close to running out of cash?
oldandgrumpy
You do realize that the funding chart was going up up right at the time CIG were seeking bail out money from Calders. Their own accounts show they were very close to going under at that time.
Yes. On paper at least. CIG cannot have been that concerned though because it was not as if they started layoffs or anything.
I don't know how much money CIG have received in total but just adding the sales and Calder's investments puts them at $363.5 million.
They have spent at least $335 million of that. It is costing them approximately $5 million a month as things stand.
God, how much money are they going to need before they finally have a finished product at the current rate of development? $500 million? More?
Good question.
The more that is spent however the "harder" it will be for the Calders to see a return on their money. And having exercised their share option putting in another $20M+ have to assume they believe they will.
Now whether they see a profit is a different question.
To have a chance though stuff has to launch. Ongoing sales don't hack it. Which suggests "sooner" rather than "later" and that the answer to how much more may be less than one might think. Still a huge sum. And mostly spent - I think we can say - spent on making the game. The accounts now break out the marketing costs - which includes the alpha server and the conventions.
Considering that e.g. A-B told investors they would spend c. $500M on Destiny - and as an investor statement that will have been realistic. Yet we know from the Bungee / A-B that what was spent on the game was way less. As DMKano says though big companies can spent as much - or more - on marketing. (Not always for the better.)
Update in Q3 presumably when it comes to SQ42. Single player game though so not sure "we" will "see" anything (demo mission to test mechanics?).
Could development have continued without the investment? (Wasn't a "bailout" as said above.)
Maybe. Gone OK since and if it has gotten worse they could have e.g. stopped replacing staff who left to reduce costs. Easy choice if the alternative is going under.
Either way c. 90 days of funding is life on the edge for a company of 500+ employees. Exciting for some maybe but employees usually sign up for a regular paychecks.
CR et. al. had a decision to make. And I think they knew when they announced - way back - that they had raised "enough" to finish the game that going down the direct investment route was an option. (Banks prefer guaranteed regular income. It is one thing for Coutt's to provide a small sum knowing that they would get their money back via UK government after 90 days - basically a payday loan - another thing entirely to loan a few tens of millions.)
Comments
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
It would make sense,i commented on what i saw and how much i thought looked to be invested in the game so far and was well under 50,like about 20 million at best.Obviously a lot of that money is just sitting in their coffers,most claimed as a buffer for future years but even still i am pretty sure there is a limit with a non profit which i am also sure Robert's is claiming.
Would be more fun to find out how and where he hides all this money from taxes,no way could he be that incompetent to have spent it all,just no way.Hey that's why his partner is a lawyer and he has carried that guy with him his entire career.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
At this point, the amount of money raised is depressing.
MurderHerd
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
5 investors or 1? Keith Calder (1) and Clive Calder (2) collectively make up Calder Family Office (3). Snoot Entertainment (4) is Keith Calder + another and ITG (5) were the ones who arranged the investment. So I would say just 1 "investment" even if 5 "investors" are listed.
That said there was the share swap they did with the software company that works on SC. No money involved so not an "investment" as such but they do own a tiny bit of the company.
And as this is an investment which will be governed by a contract they will have much more "power" than folks who buy a few shares on the stock market (and then rarely use their vote sadly).
That the Calders exercised an option they had negotiated to buy more shares is telling imo. c. $69M is a serious sum. They must see a path to profit.
Which means the game has to launch.
Ship sales don't hack it. Ship sales i.e. sales of the game - basically the same as e.g. CU etc selling character slots - have only really been covering costs up until the end of 2019. Why - presumably - they got the investment. Life of the edge - i.e. 90 days - gets uncomfortable when you have a 500+ person wage bill.
I suggested Destiny - its a space game that we know from court filings sold at least 20M (and then a lot more). Sure Witcher 3 didn't (not a noted commercial success unlike Skyrim) nor did Freddy Frog Crosses the Road. The Calders - we have to assume - see something more like Destiny.
Plus any money that SC makes.
And then there is the fact that Snoot Entertainment develop and produce films! Keith Calder's imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2096462/
The movie ...... or TV series ......
oldandgrumpy
You do realize that the funding chart was going up up right at the time CIG were seeking bail out money from Calders. Their own accounts show they were very close to going under at that time.
Money raised used as a milestone, as an indication of the succes of the game that is supposedly being built with it. There is no connection whatsoever and the focus on this “succes” is ridiculous. We could also “celebrate” every delay or every month the game doesn’t release, those are just as big an indication of the games succes.
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Record funding year ready with 6 months to go.
Glad to have all the cynics back lol,
Thanks for caring.
Still think 300$Millions spread throughout 8 years is a lot for AAA studios?
Oh my sweet summer child...
Anthem made 100$Millions on it's First Month alone.
Fortnite makes $billions per year selling skins to kids..
GTA Online generated 500$millions last year alone ...
EA / Take2 make billions per years selling FiFA/NBA packs to kids...
BuT sTaR CiTiZeN...
I like your comic though, it shows deaf people endlessly staring at the jpeg of a starship
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
They aren't making profit for shareholders but investing into into the games development.
If they were in it for the money they wouldn't keep hiring devs every year or hire so many hollywood actors.
I mean Mark Hamill would be enough for just about anybody...
They wouldn't keep spending money and time upgrading legacy assets multiple times instead of making new ones if their focus was stashing money.
These money articles are always magnets for controversy and salty commenters to relief their frustrations without needing to know anything about the game or thoughtfull reasoning.
It's the perfect click bait
The more that is spent however the "harder" it will be for the Calders to see a return on their money. And having exercised their share option putting in another $20M+ have to assume they believe they will.
Now whether they see a profit is a different question.
To have a chance though stuff has to launch. Ongoing sales don't hack it. Which suggests "sooner" rather than "later" and that the answer to how much more may be less than one might think. Still a huge sum. And mostly spent - I think we can say - spent on making the game. The accounts now break out the marketing costs - which includes the alpha server and the conventions.
Considering that e.g. A-B told investors they would spend c. $500M on Destiny - and as an investor statement that will have been realistic. Yet we know from the Bungee / A-B that what was spent on the game was way less. As DMKano says though big companies can spent as much - or more - on marketing. (Not always for the better.)
Update in Q3 presumably when it comes to SQ42. Single player game though so not sure "we" will "see" anything (demo mission to test mechanics?).
Could development have continued without the investment? (Wasn't a "bailout" as said above.)
Maybe. Gone OK since and if it has gotten worse they could have e.g. stopped replacing staff who left to reduce costs. Easy choice if the alternative is going under.
Either way c. 90 days of funding is life on the edge for a company of 500+ employees. Exciting for some maybe but employees usually sign up for a regular paychecks.
CR et. al. had a decision to make. And I think they knew when they announced - way back - that they had raised "enough" to finish the game that going down the direct investment route was an option. (Banks prefer guaranteed regular income. It is one thing for Coutt's to provide a small sum knowing that they would get their money back via UK government after 90 days - basically a payday loan - another thing entirely to loan a few tens of millions.)