Fig (company)

Fig

Company type	Private
Industry	Video game crowdfunding
Founded	August 2015
Founder	Justin Bailey, Bob Ippolito, Freeman White
Defunct	May 2023
Fate	Acquired by Republic and integrated into parent company
Headquarters	San Francisco Bay Area , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Justin Bailey (co-founder)
Products	Crowdfunding and investment platform for video games
Parent	Republic (from 2022)

Fig was a video game crowdfunding platform introduced in August 2015. Distinct from conventional platforms such as Kickstarter, which primarily provide rewards to supporters, Fig merged traditional backing with investment options, enabling non-accredited investors to partake in future revenue shares from successful games. By the close of 2017, four titles had delivered returns, generating a 245% profit for Fig investors.

In 2022, Fig was acquired by Republic, and by May 2023, it was fully integrated and dissolved into its parent company.

History

Established in August 2015, Fig was co-founded by Justin Bailey (previously COO at Double Fine Productions), Bob Ippolito, and Freeman White. The advisory board featured seasoned industry figures like Aaron Isaksen (Indie Fund), Brian Fargo (inXile Entertainment), Feargus Urquhart (Obsidian Entertainment), and Tim Schafer (Double Fine Productions). Subsequent additions included Alex Rigopulos (Harmonix), Cliff Bleszinski (formerly with Epic Games), and Randy Pitchford (Gearbox Software). Initial seed capital came from Spark Capital, followed by a $7.84 million funding round in January 2017 supported by Spark, Greycroft Partners, and others.

In February 2017, Fig introduced the "$500,000 Finishing Fund," designed to provide up to $20,000 in late-stage development or marketing assistance for projects that had successfully met their funding goals.

The platform’s name "Fig" was inspired by Hotel Figueroa near the Los Angeles Convention Center, a well-known gathering spot during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Following Republic's acquisition in April 2020, Fig broadened investment access, facilitating larger campaigns including hardware ventures like the Intellivision Amico microconsole. Justin Bailey continued serving on Republic’s board after the merger to support the integration process.

Republic declared its intention to wind down Fig on May 28, 2023, while assuring fulfillment of all outstanding commitments to backers post-closure.

Approach

Fig provided an alternative to standard crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter by permitting supporters not only to pledge funds but also to invest in game development and receive a portion of the profits, alongside typical reward incentives. Initially, investment opportunities were confined to accredited investors possessing assets exceeding $1 million, with plans to extend participation to all interested parties.

With amendments under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, Fig allowed anyone to invest a minimum of $1,000 starting December 2015. Delays in SEC approval impacted funding timelines for campaigns like Psychonauts 2, prompting Fig to temporarily advance funds to developers. By September 2016, SEC authorization enabled unaccredited investors to acquire Fig Game Shares following successful campaigns. To ensure developers received full pledged amounts, Fig managed unpaid shares by reselling them to maintain equity balance.

This investment framework drew inspiration from advisory board members’ Kickstarter campaign experiences and successes of companies like Oculus VR, which secured $2.5 million via Kickstarter before being acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Bailey emphasized that fans with significant stakes should share in profits generated by successful games.

By combining conventional backing with investment opportunities, Fig allowed investors to evaluate project potential through backer enthusiasm, thereby mitigating investment risks. Schafer envisioned Fig supporting mid-tier game development—positioned between AAA blockbusters and indie titles—by enabling smaller teams to obtain multi-million-dollar budgets without reliance on major publishers. He also sought to address crowdfunding fatigue impacting niche projects on platforms like Kickstarter.

Fig carefully selected one or two projects at any given time based on viability and interest levels, tailoring project pages to maximize appeal. The platform could expand simultaneous offerings if prior campaigns succeeded. Investment was optional; projects could opt for traditional backing alone. Founders Fargo, Urquhart, and Schafer pledged their studios’ upcoming games would be funded through Fig.

In May 2019, Fig launched "Open Access," a secondary funding approach permitting ongoing financial support after initial campaigns via early access releases. Contributors gained access to pre-release builds and exclusive backer features during this phase lasting from 30 days post-campaign until full launch.

Games financed

Title	Developer	Duration	Target funding	Final amount raised (investment portion)	Backers count	Status	Overview
Intellivision Amico	Amico Entertainment	2019–Present		$5.5 million		Template:Failure	A vanity project marked by poor management and classified as Vaporware. Multiple financing rounds negatively impacted Fig, with no notable product launch.
Outer Wilds	Mobius Digital	August 18, 2015 – September 17, 2015	$125,000	$126,480 ($75,000)	968	Template:Success	The inaugural game funded on Fig by Masi Oka's studio. The campaign was oversubscribed rapidly, turning away investors. Prior to release, Fig investors sold their shares to Annapurna Interactive, yielding a 220% profit.
Anchors in the Drift	5th Cell	October 21, 2015 – November 20, 2015	$500,000	$107,233 ($101,000)	133	Template:Failure	A free-to-play RPG aiming for $500k to finalize development. Despite high hopes following Outer Wilds, the campaign fell short, highlighting crowdfunding challenges.
Psychonauts 2	Double Fine Productions	December 3, 2015 – January 12, 2016	$3,300,000	$3,829,024 ($1,870,000)	24,109	Template:Success	Sequel to Psychonauts, successfully raised over $3.8 million with nearly half from investment contributions.
Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch	Interabang Entertainment	February 23, 2016 – March 31, 2016	$400,000	$445,467 ($327,000)	2,600	Template:Success	Brawler game inspired by Kevin Smith's characters. Funded successfully but faced delays and ownership transitions; planned release set for 2025.
Rock Band 4 for PC	Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.	March 1, 2016 – April 5, 2016	$1,500,000	$792,817 ($591,000)	1,674	Template:Failure	Crowdfunding effort to bring Rock Band 4 to PC only achieved half of its goal; alternative strategies under consideration.
Consortium: The Tower	Interdimensional Games Inc	April 7, 2016 – May 11, 2016	$300,000	$348,538 ($249,000)	3,046	Template:Success	Follow-up to Consortium, transitioned from Kickstarter to Fig after initial underperformance and exceeded funding target.
Make Sail	Popcannibal	September 29, 2016 – November 2, 2016	$50,000	$58,990 ($32,000)	911	Template:Success	'Survival crafting and exploration game from the creator of Girls Like Robots. Surpassed funding expectations.
Wasteland 3	inXile Entertainment	October 5, 2016 – November 3, 2016	$2,750,000	$3,121,716 ($2,250,000)	17,707	Template:Success	'Sequel to Wasteland 2, raised more than $3.1 million in a campaign comparable to its Kickstarter predecessor.
Trackless	12 East Games LLC	October 11, 2016 – November 17, 2016	$20,000	$21,790 ($12,000)	465	Template:Success	'Launched in September 2017; delivered positive returns to investors.
'Jazon and the Dead'	'2nd Studio'	'October 31, 2016 – December 1, 2016'	'$65,000'	'$30,250 ($18,000)'	'319'	'Template:Failure'
'Kingdoms and Castles'	'Lion Shield'	'December 3, 2016 – January 5, 2017'	'$15,000'	'$108,767 ($83,000)'	'1,382'	'Template:Success'	'The first Fig title to yield a positive return for investors with an estimated ROI of approximately 300%.'
'Little Bug'	'Buddy System'	'January 4, 2017 – February 9, 2017'	'$35,000'	'$35,317 ($28,000)'	'315'	'Template:Success'
'Solo'	'Team Gotham'	'January18 ,2017 – February23 ,2017'	'$64 ,500'	'$68 ,735 ($50 ,000)'	'543'	'Template:Success'
'Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire'	'Obsidian Entertainment'	'January25 ,2017 – February24 ,2017'	'$1 ,100 ,000'	'$4 ,705 ,524 ($2 ,250 ,000)'	'33 ,614'	'Template:Success'
'Solstice Chronicles: MIA'	'Ironward'	'February23 ,2017 – March23 ,2017'	'$30 ,000'	'$30 ,900 ($16 ,000)'	'512'	'Template:Success'	'Released July26 ,2017; returned over100% profit.'
'Phoenix Point'	'Snapshot Games'	'April25 ,2017 – June8 ,2017'	'$500 ,000'	'$765 ,948 ($320 ,000)'	'10 ,314'	'Template:Success'	"Developed by Julian Gollop's Snapshot Games in Bulgaria as a spiritual successor to X-COM."
"Flash Point: Fire Rescue"	"RetroEpic Software"	"May30 ,2017 – June28 ,2017"	" $30 ,000"	" $38 ,354 ($15 ,000)"	"767"	"Template:Success"
"KnightOut"	"2nd Studio"	"June27 ,2017 – July27 ,2017"	" $15 ,000"	" $30 ,713 ($25 ,000)"	"323"	"Template:Success"
"Bounty Battle"	"Dark Screen Games"	"July 2017 – August22 ,2017"	" $30 ,000"	" $39 ,575 ($26 ,000)"	"334"	"Template:Success"
"Homeworld 3"	"Blackbird Interactive"	"September1 ,2019 – September30 ,2019"	" $1"	"Ongoing ($1 ,505 ,840)"	"8 ,414"	"Template:Success"