Hmm, my only contention with this is referring to backers as "shareholders"

Whether you got a $45 pledge package, or a $10,000 we aren't really shareholders and something like finances wouldn't be something we are entitled to know more about.

Not to make it sound like I disapprove of your question, definitely a +1 from me. I can't possibly know if it's in SbS's best interests to tell us behind the scenes things like this, but I hope if answering this question is appropriate you do in fact get an answer to this :D

Posted By Labbe at 5:32 PM - Thu Mar 14 2019

Hmm, my only contention with this is referring to backers as "shareholders"

The quotation marks were meant to mean it as a joke. I obviously know people who buy a game are not shareholders. I try to make a parallel between an IPO being forced to give financial statements to their shareholders as much as SBS should also keep their community in the loop when it comes to finances and how they plan on keeping the production afloat.

This is a fairly common question around here. Since you're on discord, you may have already seen Caspian address some of this publicly, but in case you haven't:

Caspian ☁12/27/2018
@Priestess Regarding revenue, Soulbound Studios is doing great. We're growing the team again and have a few positions open now and will have a few more early next year. We still plan to look for investors in 2019, but our need to do so is less than before. The community has done a great job crowd-funding the game for us and we've demonstrated we can continue development for a long time just on promotions.

Our desire to seek investors at this point is mostly so we can scale the company larger to handle the additional demands that will arise from things like Alpha/Beta Testing, etc. I'd like to get a larger support/outreach team, we'd like a few other technical designers, and some additional programmers. But in general, we're doing really well.

Caspian ☁12/27/2018
@Duffy de Concierge |⍲| We've looked at it. I talked with Gordon about his experiences and based on that have kept it as a possibility. It would allow us to raise up to $1M a year in micro-investments. There's quite a bit of overheard in doing it that way, however, as we take on a lot of the burdens of being a publicly traded company without many of the benefits.

We'll pursue Reg-D private investor funding before a Reg-CF investment campaign. But it's not out of the question. Let me put it this way, it comes ahead of publishers. :smiley:

You may have the opportunity get more insight from Caspian on discord, when he's around, or via the next Q&A. I think there will be one open to the entire community soon.

This is a fairly common question around here. Since you're on discord, you may have already seen Caspian address some of this publicly, but in case you haven't: [...]

Great! Thanks for the answer. Didn't saw it. Even though I would like more specifics, I don't think I will ever get anything more specific than this. It's reassuring, but not convincing.

Posted By Lord_Krieg at 10:45 AM - Fri Mar 15 2019

This is a fairly common question around here. Since you're on discord, you may have already seen Caspian address some of this publicly, but in case you haven't: [...]

Great! Thanks for the answer. Didn't saw it. Even though I would like more specifics, I don't think I will ever get anything more specific than this. It's reassuring, but not convincing.

Not convincing at all but I'm still excited for the game none the less.

Posted By Lord_Krieg at

---

So my question is:

Seeing that the small amount of money might not be enough to achieve their large roadmap, is SBS thinking about acquiring funding via VCs or using a publisher to release the game? I know that they looked into the getting published by a larger company a long time ago, but I was wandering if this was back on the table since money might become short eventually? My question does not aim at taking a hit to SBS, but more at understanding their plan in terms of finances, before I put my money back into the game.

Thanks!

Background: I, like you, am a backer and not an employee of SBS, and I also work in the software industry and am well aware of the costs of large scale software development.

SBS has never claimed that the amount of capital raised so far is sufficient to fund the full development effort. What they have said is that it is enough to comfortably fund their current work with a reasonable buffer into the future. Each day/week/month/year that they remain independent, makes the likelihood of the game being built along the lines of their original vision higher, and so they would like to remain independent for long as possible. Additionally it puts them in a better position to approach investors or publishers, if and when they are ready.

The rate of crowd-funding investment by the player base has continued to be strong. For reference, they passed the $5M mark in late November, so they have raised another $660K in the last 4 months. That translates into almost $2M a year of additional funding. Obviously there is no guarantee that this revenue rate will continue indefinitely, but as long as they continue to make progress and expand the number of interested potential players, there is a reasonable chance that crowd funding will continue to help lengthen their runway.

SBS shows little sign at the moment of financial hardship, in particular, they have been talking about how they are recruiting new staff from the various layoffs in the gaming industry in Seattle.

It seems (again from the outside but as someone who has sought VC funding for software companies) highly probable that SBS would be able to attract funding at this point if they desired to make the tradeoff in control. If they required or desired the additional funding, I would be pretty shocked if they didn't reach out to get that funding. If the alternative is stopping on the project that they have invested the last N years of their lives in, or giving up some control, I am pretty sure which one would be picked.

Personally I take it as a really good sign that they have lasted this long as an independent game studio without needing to call upon an outside source and taking on all of the other things that come with that. I hope they continue in this manner until they are much closer to Release Day.

Thus I have chosen to put my money in now, in hopes of making that a reality, but I think everyone understands that funding this game is a matter of personal choice, subject to your level of disposable income, your degree of risk aversion, and your level of patience.

IMHO, going public is the modern way to sell one's soul to the devil. From the time it happens, a company's primary concern ceases being its products or its customers, and becomes its stockholders. For stockholders in general, money is the measure of all things. So, although it might be necessary for SBS to go public some day, I hope it only happens after CoE has become a satisfying playable reality. If it happens before that, I fear that additional development will be short-shrifted in favor of maximizing cash flow.

Posted By Calidor at 10:50 PM - Fri Mar 15 2019

That to me at least seems a really strong hint that he is negotiating funding from an investor or publisher or something along those lines.

Though I would love for them to get some investor/publisher on board. Would make me nervous about what shit would be added in as well. I really can't picture a world, where a publisher doesn't want some BS to be added in.

Posted By Gunnlang at 08:20 AM - Fri Mar 15 2019

Posted By Calidor at 10:50 PM - Fri Mar 15 2019

That to me at least seems a really strong hint that he is negotiating funding from an investor or publisher or something along those lines.

Though I would love for them to get some investor/publisher on board. Would make me nervous about what shit would be added in as well. I really can't picture a world, where a publisher doesn't want some BS to be added in.

Caspian has already turned down publishers who wanted to change the monetization model, or add cash shops, etc. That bodes well. That was almost two years ago- since then, the studio hasn't collapsed, and has actually grown. It's a good sign that if Caspian is talking with any publisher, he's now in a more commanding spot in negotiations. The past three and a half years has proven that we don't need a publisher to stay afloat, so any deal they present has to be more beneficial to SbS, rather than opportunistic.

Theoretically we could crowdfund our own VC, as a VC is nothing more than a group of investors with a shared interest and a collective large amount of money.

I’m sure we could raise a significant amount of money as a group of backers, ensuring the spirit of the game stays within caspian vision, while at the same time funding the game, and potentially sharing in the success financially.

I would be up for it.

Posted By mickdude2 at 11:37 PM - Fri Mar 15 2019

Caspian has already turned down publishers who wanted to change the monetization model, or add cash shops, etc. That bodes well. That was almost two years ago- since then, the studio hasn't collapsed, and has actually grown. It's a good sign that if Caspian is talking with any publisher, he's now in a more commanding spot in negotiations. The past three and a half years has proven that we don't need a publisher to stay afloat, so any deal they present has to be more beneficial to SbS, rather than opportunistic.

My concern wasn't for now, it's after launch. The spark price is insanely low, for how long someone can get out of it. I still really don't understand how that will keep them afloat.

So my concern is any publisher/investor will see the same thing and want to change something. They want a return back after all.

Posted By zimmah at 8:04 PM - Fri Mar 15 2019

Theoretically we could crowdfund our own VC, as a VC is nothing more than a group of investors with a shared interest and a collective large amount of money.

I’m sure we could raise a significant amount of money as a group of backers, ensuring the spirit of the game stays within caspian vision, while at the same time funding the game, and potentially sharing in the success financially.

I would be up for it.

Agreed. There isnt anything more that I'd want from the store. I want to play the game to earn anything. Still, if there was a way to support the devellopment and get my money back with a bonus after/if the game is released and runs well... I'd clearly have more money for them than I already "invested".