The State of TTRPG Crowdfunding in 2025 (So Far)

As we reach the halfway mark of 2025, it’s a good time to review the year and check the ‘state’ of the TTRPG industry. With tariffs in play and many people worried about the future alongside their bottom line, there are numerous questions regarding how spending on TTRPGs will evolve. One metric that we have to test is the state of “crowdfunding” in TTRPGs.

Crowdfunding campaigns are the primary way that new games and expansions get funded. Most board game and TTRPG publishers aren’t big enough to afford the up-front risk of buying a ton of books. So, they invest in Kickstarter campaigns to generate interest and get the projects moving. Sometimes that leads to massive campaigns like Brotherwise Game’s $14.5 million success, and sometimes it leads to a struggle to find an audience.

The purchasing of books and backing of Kickstarter campaigns is also something I’d consider a luxury activity, aka something that is not necessary for living, but it creates products down the line that we desire. It’s delayed fulfillment.

2025 is no different, with publishers continuing to launch major campaigns throughout the first half of the year to get new products into people’s hands. But publishers are also re-evaluating their plans, since many American TTRPG companies remain uncertain about if they want to take the risk of running a Kickstarter, only for changes in tariffs down the line to slow down or even make a campaign impossible to fulfill. Consumers are also deciding if they want to take the risk. While a Kickstarter is built on the promise that the company will provide you the product you requested, it’s not a guarantee. Life happens.

So, how is 2025 panning out so far? Here’s my overview of the first half of 2025’s TTRPG crowdfunding so far.

Highlights

• 57 TTRPG-focused crowdfunding campaigns raised $100,000 or more in 2025 as of June 2025. Contrast that with an estimated 145 projects raising $100,000 by the end of 2024.

• Only five crowdfunding campaigns have successfully raised $1 million or more in 2025. Only nine campaigns in 2024 crossed the $1 million capstone.

• Nearly half of all campaigns (49%) were built around Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons rules in some fashion.

• 31% of all successful campaigns were based on previously established intellectual properties.

• Free League was the most prominent creator on the market, with two of its products in the top ten campaigns of 2025 (Alien, Dragonbane) and a third (Outgunned Superheroes) being distributed through its channels.

Top Ten Campaigns of 2025

What Can We Learn?

So, what does the first half of 2025 tell us?

• IP Remains Supreme: Whether it's The Magnus Archives, Alien, or Fallen London, people tend to support properties they enjoy. Nostalgia is a big driver for why people spend the big bucks.

• Spectrum of Properties: 2024 was defined by a hunt for new fantasy RPGs that could be an alternative to D&D, with games like Draw Steel, Cosmere and DC20 leading the pack. 2025 has more variety so far, from horror sci-fi games to superhero expansions. D&D remains in its top spot, with developers continuing to make supplemental material for the popular TTRPG.

• Spending is Slowing Down: Crowdfunding campaigns are struggling to cross the $100,000 mark in 2025. I’m not sure if this is because there are fewer campaigns or if people are spending less, but industry experts have noticed that spending on crowdfunding so far this year is down compared to previous years. Why is that? It could be economic fears, or it could also just be people wanting to see past campaigns fulfilled first.

• Online Drama Did Not Reach the Wallet: The presence of of City State of the Invincible Overlord in the top ten campaigns took me by surprise, since it’s a project that has gotten a significant amount of attention on websites like EN World and Rascal News. In short, the City State is an IP property owned by Judge’s Guide, with whom Goodman Games (the publisher) previously severed ties due to well-documented records of the owners promoting racist and anti-semitic ideas. That earned Goodman Games some scrutiny from fans, but that scrutiny and coverage did not stop the campaign from being a success.

What’s Next?

2025 is already a chaotic year, and I do not see it slowing down. If I had to make a prediction, I expect to see fewer successful crowdfunding campaigns in the second half of 2025 as companies decide that the risk might not be worth it, and as people feel the pressure of rising prices in the world economy.

But what do you think about the state of crowdfunding in 2025? Where is the industry going? How might things change as we enter the second half of the year? I would love the perspective of insiders on this data so far. Let me know your thoughts! Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Methodologies

If you want to review my data, it is available here for your perusal. This is so you can point out potential analytical errors in case I got things wrong and so you can do the math yourself. I’m just one person, but I’m convinced I've got all the big players. 

The data above was gathered through a review of Kickstarter, Backerkit, and Gamefound’s platforms. Any campaigns featured in my dataset must meet the following criteria:

• A campaign must be successful. No failed campaigns are included here.

• The RPG project must be for a campaign setting or book. While dice projects like Heroforge’s Custom Dice did have substantial success this year, we’re focusing primarily on books and publishing.

• The campaign must have earned $100,000 or more. This is a ballpark metric that I think reflects a reasonable amount of success, and was inspired by Bob World Builder’s April 2025 video reviewing past subjects. This isn’t to say that a campaign that made $90,000 is lesser, but it likely has less market prominence than others.

• They wrapped up some time between January 1, 2025, and July 1, 2025.

The estimates were drawn directly from the time the campaigns wrapped up. Many Kickstarter campaigns experience a surge in pledges after the campaign ends, which can significantly increase the total amount earned. I chose to focus on what was earned at the time of the campaign’s end to ensure everything remains steadfast and will not change due to economic reasons.

Finally, I did my best to convert any pledges into USD based on the exchange rates available as of July 1, 2025.

Update: we edited the story to appropriately name the IP owners of City State as Judge’s Guild, not Judge’s Games.