THE BUZZ: Gaming fans have spoken loud and clear once again, as the Kickstarter project to get Wasteland 2 developed reaches its goal in less than two days.

EGM’s TAKE: With the success of Double Fine’s Kickstarter project to get an old-school point-and-click adventure game created wildly successful, many wondered if that success would be a one-off thing. Would other more well-known developers also be able to use the power of their fan base to fund game projects that otherwise wouldn’t be financially possible?

Well, we may now had our answer. inXile Entertainment took to Kickstarter to try to get funding for Wasteland 2, a proposed sequel to the cult classic 1988 post-apocalyptic PC RPG. In the pitch, it was mentioned that this would be a “last chance” for a Wasteland sequel, as no other publishers were willing to give the idea a shot:

This is your chance to influence the kind of game you want to see. With fan funding, you drive the direction of game design and development. If it is important to you, it is important to us.

This is probably the last chance for a Wasteland sequel. We have tried to pitch this game multiple times to game publishers, but they’ve balked. They don’t think there’s any interest in a solid, old school type of game. This is our shot at proving them wrong. And more importantly this could help bring back an entire genre of RPGs. The power of the Indie scene continues and we see this as all part of a bigger trend of bringing control back to the developers.

The initial goal for the project was $900,000—and now, two days after it kicked off, pledges sit at $1,079,844 thanks to 19,526 backers.

So, there you go—another game will now exist not because of focus testing or market reports or publisher decisions, but because developers and fans came together to make it happen. Good job.

Source: Wasteland Kickstarter Project