Open world delivery game Mika and the Witch's Mountain has absolutely demolished its Kickstarter funding goal, exceeding it by over 1,000% and earning roughly $1.38 million. While big Kickstarter gaming projects were more common a few years back, there are still plenty of success stories on the fundraising platform.
Kickstarter has been used to fund all kinds of gaming projects over the years, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes Kickstarter-funded projects end up like the disappointing Mighty No. 9, but other times they earn a great deal of praise at launch, like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, for example. There have been Kickstarter success stories and Kickstarter flops, and while it's far too early to tell how the game will fare with fans and critics, Mika and the Witch's Mountain is certainly one of the site's biggest success stories in terms of funding goals.
Mika and the Witch's Mountain was seeking around $42,000 in funding, but it earned $1,384,895.33 between 24,159 backers by the time its funding period ended. This has allowed the developers to expand their vision for the game and meet a number of stretch goals. Because Mika and the Witch's Mountain has met all its stretch goals, fans can look forward to more side quests, a physical release for the Nintendo Switch version, new outfits, new characters, and even three dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda.
Mika and the Witch's Mountain, for those unfamiliar with the game, is an open world game about a witch flying around and delivering packages. It takes direct inspiration from Studio Ghibli's classic film Kiki's Delivery Service, as well as video games like A Short Hike and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Fans of the film and those games seem to be impressed with what they've seen of Mika and the Witch's Mountain so far, if its Kickstarter success is any indication.
Luckily, those excited about Mika and the Witch's Mountain shouldn't have to wait all that long to play the game for themselves. Whereas many Kickstarter-funded games are mere concepts at the time they're pitch, Mika and the Witch's Mountain is in advanced stages of development. It's estimated that Kickstarter backers will receive their products in October 2023, which means that the game is aiming for release that month as well. With the developers having to add so much more content thanks to the Kickstarter stretch goals being met, it remains to be seen if the game will truly meet its estimated release month, but so far things are looking good for Mika and the Witch's Mountain.
Mika and the Witch's Mountain will launch October 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X.