In January 2022, Kickstarter chose to move Zine’s Quest events from February to August. The move has sparked outrage in the community of indie RPG developers, who depend on the annual event to boost their income during the flimsy winter months. Now, Kickstarter tells Polygon that in 2023 it will move the event back to February, and this time it says the change will be permanent.
“We recognize that many creators prefer to launch Zine Quest projects in February,” senior communications director Kate Bernyk told Polygon in an email. “So in 2023, we will move this reminder back to a regular time of year and will continue to hold it every February in the future.. “
Deciding to move the event to August, Kickstarter’s then game director said Anya Combs, which coincides with Gen Con. (Combs is now a tablet account manager at Kickstarter’s newest competitor, Backerkit.) But the unilateral decision – announced with less than a month’s notice – made many mistakes, especially after Kickstarter’s other unilateral decision regarding its passage. blockchain technology. (The company has slow down, but don’t stop, that transition.) The disturbance was so severe that independent developers grouped together to create The month of Zine, an alternative event with the goal of getting the entire indie RPG community off Kickstarter. These two events appear to be competing against each other in 2023.
Zine Quest has historically been a hugely successful event. In 2021, Kickstarter’s own data shows that 383 projects have been successfully funded, with over $1.7 million committed.
