Tabletop growth slows on Kickstarter, as shift to blockchain causes creator concerns

polygon.com:

Tabletop games continue to represent a significant portion — as much as one third — of Kickstarter’s total annual revenue. But competition is increasing in the tabletop crowdfunding space, and Kickstarter is doing itself no favors with its very public and very confusing transition to the blockchain. Polygon spoke with the Brooklyn-based technology company about its 2021 results and the year ahead.

“2021 was a year — for all of us,” said Kickstarter’s director of games, Anya Combs, with a laugh. “I think there was a lot of uncertainty going into it. Not just industry-wise, but are we going to have a Gen Con? Are we going to have a PAX [Unplugged]? Are we going to have an Origins [Game Fair]? And what are those going to look like?”

Pre-pandemic, these in-person events formed major waypoints on the tabletop crowdfunding calendar. While Origins went virtual, both Gen Con and PAX Unplugged managed to proceed, although with greatly diminished attendance. Combs was happy to report that it didn’t slow down crowdfunding all that much. Kickstarter’s own data shows the category was up more than 14% over 2020 to a total of $270 million earned for tabletop projects. That’s down from a 32% increase the year before, but still heading in the right direction.

Video games, by contrast, were down slightly, dropping from $22.9 million in 2020 to $21.8 million in 2021.

Combs attributed those gains in tabletop, once again, to the pandemic itself which kept folks cooped up at home searching for escapism in the form of more personal connections with family and friends. That was certainly true over the summer, when declining infection rates and warm weather allowed people to gather together once more.

“I’m really proud not only of the team,”