Brandon Sanderson, creator and writer of The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn series, has broken the record for a crowdfunded tabletop game on Kickstarter. Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG campaign, in partnership with developer Brotherwise Games, raised a total of $14,558,854 from a total of 52,658 backers on Thursday, equating to an average pledge of $276.48 per participant. The campaign is still accepting late pledges and has now raised more than $14.7 million.
The proceeds allowed Cosmea’s campaign to overtake the most-funded board game to date, Frosteaven, the sequel to Groumhaven from Cephalofare Games, which raised about $13 million in 2020. It’s also a good sign for Brooklyn-based Kickstarter, which saw its tabletop category revenue decline for the second consecutive year in 2023. The category traditionally accounts for a third of the company’s total crowdfunding revenue.
The game’s popularity among Sanderson fans isn’t surprising given the universe it’s set in. Cosmere refers to the broader cosmic umbrella in which many of Sanderson’s fictional series take place, including Mistborn, Stormlight Archives, Elantris, and Warbreaker. According to the Kickstarter description, the Cosmere RPG will begin in the world of Stormlight Archives before expanding into Mistborn.
The success of the Cosmere RPG marks Sanderson’s second record-breaking campaign on Kickstarter and third overall on the platform. His four-book secret novel project was the highest-funded campaign on the platform, raising nearly $42 million. A campaign for Stormlight Archives-themed miniatures also raised more than $4 million. Additionally, Sanderson ran a highly successful $24 million Backerkit campaign for a leather-bound book earlier this year. In total, Sanderson has raised approximately $85 million through crowdfunding since 2022.
