Highlights
- The Hogs of War Lardcore Kickstarter campaign failed to reach its goal, but Urbanscan Limited plans to continue development.
- The game is a remaster of the PS1 cult classic that satirizes early-20th century warfare with humanoid pigs.
- The Kickstarter campaign used a typical formula for videogame crowdfunding but neglected the PC market and received mixed reviews for the original game's PC port.
The Hogs of War Lardcore kickstarter campaign came to an end last November, missing the mark to reach its goal. However, Urbanscan Limited has some plans to keep going with this remaster of the PS1 cult classic.
The original Hogs of War was developed by British studio Gremlin Interactive. A turn-based tactical title in the vein of Worms, the game satirizes early-20th century warfare. It depicts a world of humanoid pigs fighting for control of the swill supply found in the 'Saustralasia' region, with factions that represent real-world countries (such as 'Tommy's Trotters' being Britain and 'Sow-a-Kraut' being Germany). The game is filled with puns, comical representations of war, and comedic cutscenes with exaggerated British accents and satirizations of educational war films. It's de-facto theme song is even The Liberty Bell March, which has a humorous connotation thanks to its association with Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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What Happened To Hogs Of War Lardcore?
On October 17th 2023, a new Kickstarter campaign was released in an effort to remaster 2000's Hogs of War. The remaster was dubbed Hogs of War Lardcore and asked for £150k (about $190,464) to make the game, with named stretch goals up to 720k and secret stretch goals from 750k-900k. The campaign ended a month later, raising £47,478. Despite not reaching its goal, Urbanscan Limited (the new company of Gremlin founder Ian Stewart) plans to continue development, with its website stating that a new development timeline should be coming sometime in 2024.
What Went Wrong With Lardcore's Kickstarter?
Lardcore's Kickstarter campaign used a formula that's pretty typical for videogame crowdfunding. The most successful videogame Kickstarter campaigns are usually based on an older franchise. This may take the form of a spiritual successor (such as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night or Yooka-Laylee), but Lardcore is more like Shenmue 3—a campaign that directly revitalizes an existing IP. This has been an incredibly popular genre of crowdfunding campaigns, but it's not without some skepticism. The disaster that was Mighty No. 9's campaign comes to mind, but the more recent Shenmue 3 might have imbued more cynicism against the concept. Then again, the PS1 cult classic is an obscure title that doesn't really have the brand power of the aforementioned examples.
However, disappointment with other Kickstarter-funded games wasn't the only factor at play. The update made on Lardcore's Kickstarter campaign in the aftermath noted that Urbanscan made the mistake of ignoring the PC market. This looks to be in reference to a proposed PC port of Lardcore being a £550k stretch goal, more than thrice the funding goal for just the game. Not only did this lofty requirement effectively cut out the PC market, but the port of the original game on Steam has gotten mixed reviews—meaning that PC-based gamers lost out on both fronts.
This Wasn't The First Hogs Of War Kickstarter Campaign
Before the Lardcore campaign, Stone Sword Games worked with Ian Stewart in 2020 to produce Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game, a board game version of the original game. The Kickstarter campaign had an initial goal of £18k and made £112,121. There's the potential that a second Kickstarter campaign soured potential backers, but the first's success and complete fulfillment to backers likely had no such effect. The contrast is more likely down to the lower asking price and how well-established tabletop games are on crowdfunding sites—with even huge IPs like Apex Legends using Kickstarter for a board game.
Hogs of War is inaccessible on consoles outside the secondary market, and its PC port has had a mixed reception. Whilst it nonetheless remains beloved by many, the franchise is at a crossroads now that Lardcore hasn't pulled through. Urbanscan still has a great deal of faith vested in it, however, so as long as its team stays in touch with its community, it should have the chance to pull through.