The crowdfunding platform Fig has raised $7.84 million in funding from a Series A financing round led by venture capital firms Spark Capital and Greycroft, a sum that the company says will increase the number of game projects hosted on Fig’s hybrid crowdfunding and investment platform.
Like traditional crowdfunding sites, Fig offers rewards-based funding tiers but what makes it stand out for both developers and would-be investors is how it gives the general public a way to contribute money to projects and eventually receive a financial return via Fig Game Shares.
“The opportunity for fans to invest in the games they believe in opens up an entirely new narrative in the evolution of crowdfunding,” explained Fig CEO Justin Bailey.
“Fans on our platform have already demonstrated that they’re willing to invest over 20 times more money per person for equity over rewards. This creates an avenue of funding for independent games that has never existed before."
According to numbers released by Fig, the crowdfunding platform hosted four of the ten most funded games in 2016 including Psychonauts 2, which raised half of its $4 million through traditional crowdfunding and half through Fig-driven investments.
Though Fig has only hosted thirteen projects since setting up shop in late 2015, the company hopes the success of its own recent funding round will “accelerate the number of innovative game projects made available to investors and backers” and thus give more game developers a chance to use the unique funding platform in the future.