Kickstarter’s post-pandemic tabletop slump slowed in 2024

Brooklyn-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter recently shared some of its year-end data with Polygon. The public benefit corporation’s 2024 numbers appear to show a 2.7% decline in initial funding for successful tabletop game projects, dramatically slowing its post-pandemic slump. Meanwhile, the games category overall was buoyed by a reported 28% increase in initial funding for successful video game projects. As a result, the company’s revenue in the games category overall was more or less flat for 2024. However, it appears that individual tabletop creators earned on average less from initial funding than in years previous.

Digging into the numbers, initial funding for successful tabletop projects declined by just $6.2 million in 2024, compared to a $10.2 million decline in 2023 (as reported last year by Tabletop Analytics) and a $33.6 million decline in 2022. Meanwhile, initial funding for successful video game projects reached $26.1 million, the highest level since 2015. The games category overall has traditionally accounted for roughly one third of Kickstarter’s total revenue from crowdfunding. Overall, the company said that 83% of game campaigns were successful, representing the highest success rate in the company’s 15-year history.

There were also a lot more successful campaigns in 2024. Kickstarter claims 5,314 successful tabletop campaigns, or an 8% increase from 2023. However, the amount earned by each tabletop campaign continues to fall. In 2019, successful tabletop campaigns earned $67,350 on average. In 2023, that number appears to have fallen to $45,982. Last year, Kickstarter says it dropped to just $41,400. Remove the biggest campaign from the equation — Brandon Sanderson and Brotherwise Games’ $15.1 million campaign for tabletop role-playing games based on the author’s work — and it’s just $38,566 on average for successful tabletop creators.

The Kickstarter platform continued to evolve with new features in 2024. Chief among them is the ability for creators to solicit “late pledges” directly on its platform. Kickstarter has traditionally hosted limited-time campaigns, which tend to run for about a month. Those who missed the cut-off in the past were simply out of luck — unless creators had partnered with third parties like Gamefound or Backerkit for late-pledge campaigns hosted on those platforms. As of May 21, 2024, Kickstarter now offers a similar service.

Kickstarter took care to point out the continued strength that its platform provides due to the many different kinds of projects launched there. Nikki Kria, Kickstarter’s director of communications, noted in an email to Polygon that “70% of all backings to Games projects in 2024 came from backers who also supported projects in other categories like Design & Technology, Comics, and Publishing.”

“In 2024, when you look at all the Games projects launched across all crowdfunding platforms, 78% of those that raised $100K or more were launched on Kickstarter,” Kria continued. “It’s a testament to the fact that we remain the platform of choice for creators big and small. These major, six-figure campaigns don’t just succeed individually — they bring more active backers to Kickstarter, fueling discovery and support for a wider range of projects across the platform.”

More new Kickstarter features are expected to come online in 2025, including additional pledge management tools leaving beta soon.

“We recognize that 2024 was a shifting year for the industry, but Kickstarter remains the place where new and established creators launch and grow their careers,” Kria said. “Our focus remains on delivering the best possible crowdfunding experience for game makers of all kinds.”