Over 61,000 supporters have chipped in to help Interplay founder Brian Fargo bring about the end of the world in a sequel to the 1988 RPG classic, Wasteland. Last night, Fargo’s Wasteland 2 Kickstarter campaign concluded with $2,933,197 in pledges and $108,173 in PayPal donations, bringing the total of the fundraising campaign to $3,041,370 – or roughly 340% of its original $900,000 goal.
Staffers at Fargo’s current studio, inXile entertainment, celebrated the insanely successful campaign with a live wrap party featuring special guest appearances by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and Interplay alumnus Chris Avellone. Last night’s shenanigans have been recorded and preserved for humanity here.
The Wasteland 2 Kickstarter launched in mid-march and eclipsed the $1M mark in its opening days. In an April 4 update, the studio said it would bring in more designers to help flesh out the upcoming sequel if it were to break the $2.5 million donation mark. Fargo and company also hinted at developing a mod kit if the campaign reached $3 million, but no promises were made.
Fargo’s final tally falls just shy of Double Fine’s $3,336,371 Kickstarter total. Let’s hope the community isn’t too tapped out to support the recently launched Shadowrun Returns campaign (Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter hits target in two days) or the high-def Leisure Suit Larry project (Leisure Suit Larry HD remake takes to Kickstarter).