The latest season of Invincible just ended on Amazon Prime, and the character couldn't be more popular. You know what's going to be a hit now? Invincible video game. Skybound Entertainment, Robert Kirkman's production company, wants to make games as seriously as you want to play them, but they need more money.
Now, let's be clear: Invincible video games already exist – sort of – but they're pretty small and simple. Skybound wants to produce an epic, loud, and expensive AAA Invincible video game for all major platforms, and has launched his crowdfunding campaign to raise money. (Update: It turns out that this campaign incorrectly referred to “seasons 4 and 5” of the TV series, which Amazon didn't announce. Oops!)
This bothered me at first. The highest amount raised for a video game in a crowdfunding campaign is about $8 million or $9 million. AAA video games can cost upwards of $100 million to produce. Even for the most popular IP in existence, it's impossible to fund a game of that scale through crowdfunding alone.
So I actually checked the campaign page and…I got it. This is not a well-known campaign like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. This is an investment campaign.
The project is being operated through Republic, a site for investors to back projects. Campaigns on Republic have expiration dates and funding limits (this campaign's cap is 5 million). You can purchase products in advance with familiar campaigns. This is not the case. You are an investor, not a customer.
What do I get when I invest in the Invincible video game? If the game is successful, can I receive a share of the profits? Traditionally, this is why people invest in the first place. The investment type is listed as “Crowd SAFE” and is defined on the website as: “A SAFE allows an investor to make a cash investment in a company with the right to receive stock in a particular company” at a later date in connection with a specific event. ”
Other websites have also reported about this campaign, but they have not mentioned what kind of it it is. If you're reading this, I don't think he's the type of person who will be satisfied with Skybound's stock being insignificant three years from now. They just want to buy video games. Before you jump in, understand what you're doing and what you want.
As of this writing, the Invincible video game investment campaign has raised nearly $450,000. Campaign ends on April 30th.
