New crowdfunding site lets backers share in eventual game profits

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are really good at letting gamers give money to in-progress game projects that interest them. But they're pretty bad at sharing any eventual profits with the early "investors" that helped get the project going in the first place. Enter Fig, a new game crowdfunding site that will let gamers truly invest in upcoming games, offering a share of any revenues that eventually come from those projects after funding is complete.

That kind of revenue sharing comes with some significant strings for the time being; only Accredited Investors with at least $1 million in net assets can join in, and they have to invest at least $1,000. But Fig plans to open the investment plan up to regular gamers in the next few months, pursuant to a 2012 law that lowered the regulatory burden for everyday people to get into such markets.

Fig backers will also be able to go the more traditional crowdfunding route, contributing a small sum for rewards like game downloads and swag without any ownership stake. The service itself will take five percent from each project's crowdfunding revenue, much like Kickstarter, but it will also pocket five percent of a game's sales going forward after funding is complete. And despite the financial sharing, developers retain all intellectual property rights associated with their games.