Just yesterday, Izanagi Games launched a crowdfunding campaign for the upcoming mystery adventure game Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate, and the goal has been already achieved.
While the goal on the Japanese platform Campfire was not exactly demanding, at 2,000,000 yen (approximately $13,600 at the current exchange rate), the sensitive topic did not stop prospective supporters.
After having been fully funded in approximately a day, the total is now at 2,862,000 yen with nearly over 58 days to go on the clock.
The names involved likely contributed to the initial success. Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate is written by Rika Suzuki, who wrote and designed classic adventure games like Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Another Code: Two Memories/Trace Memories.
The character design is by Gangsta mangaka Kohske, who also has a certain following and gives the game a rather distinctive look.
Now that the game has passed the initial hurdle, we can expect it to come to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2024. At the moment, no stretch goals have been announced.
To celebrate, Izanagi Games has announced that large-sized panels with the game's characters will be displayed at its booth at Tokyo Game Show later this month. While no promise has been made, it's likely that we'll also learn more about Dark Auction: Hitler’s Estate then.
The story is set in 1981, with protagonist Noah taking part in a mysterious auction hosted at an old castle that used to be owned by Adolph Hitler himself. It promises mysteries and human drama aplenty, on top of a fully explorable 3D map, puzzles, and investigation gameplay based on keywords.
We'll be at Tokyo Game Show ourselves, and we'll see if we can find out more interesting details about this title.
If you're interested in more successful crowdfunding campaigns, the one for the Patapon spiritual successor Ratatan concluded just yesterday on Kickstarter.
