The video game based on Francis Ford Coppola's war movie Apocalypse Now generated a lot of buzz when it was announced in January. Today there is major news on the project, as the game's Kickstarter has been canceled, with a crowdfunding campaign moving to its own platform at Apocalypsenow.com. In a statement, Coppola's American Zoetrope said the shift will allow the team to provide a "deeper connection" to the game's ongoing development with fans.
"The new platform will serve as a rallying point for the community and represents the team's long-term commitment to both funding the project and sharing details of the development process," it said.
The original Kickstarter campaign is still live. It raised $173,600 from more than 2,700 backers. The funding tally is well short of the $900,000 target. The goal, as it was before, is to raise $5.9 million to make an "authentic game that people want to play," game director Montogomery Markland said. Because the Kickstarter is canceled, the funding tally goes back to zero.
The new website shows that funding will be accepted for 459 more days. As of press time, the new funding campaign has brought in around $31,000 from 71 pledges.
"We are making a unique interactive experience with the Apocalypse Now video game--it's like Fallout: New Vegas on acid in Vietnam," he explained.
The website ApocalypseNow.com will feature "real-time updates" on the project by way of written posts and livestreams. People who back the project will receive access to a "premium" version of the site where they can speak directly to the developers.
Backing the project at $25 or more gets you a copy of the game, which is tentatively scheduled to come out in 2020. Go to the new Apocalypse Now video game website to learn more.
The Apocalypse Now video game is being led by a number of video game veterans. Markland, the game director, worked on Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera. Rob Auten, who has writing credits on the Gears of War, Battlefield, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy games is also working on the game. Additionally, Josh Sawyer, design director at Obsidian Entertainment, is collaborating with the team as a special adviser in the areas of gameplay design and crowdfunding.
For more on the Apocalypse Now game, check out this roundup of what the developers said during a recent Reddit AMA. You can see some work-in-progress images in the gallery above.