Following our recent coverage on Wonders of The First, the collectible card game has hit another snag in its already controversial journey. Despite previously securing a spot on Kickstarter as a “Project We Love,” the platform has now threatened to remove the game within 48 hours unless the creators of the project remove it themselves.
The sticking point appears to be the game’s “Character Proof Inserts”—50 unique cards redeemable for an NFT. Although these were part of the original campaign approved by Kickstarter according to an announcement on the Wonders of the first Discord channel, the platform has reversed its stance, citing a breach of its policies that prohibit the offer of “equity” or similar financial instruments, although its terms do not specifically address NFTs.
Jeff French, the project leader, has announced that the campaign will not be removed voluntarily, aiming to expose what he perceives as Kickstarter’s inconsistent policy enforcement influenced by external pressures.
Despite potential removal from Kickstarter, plans are underway to relaunch the pre-sale on the game’s official website.
French also hinted at potential legal action against Kickstarter for what he views as significant damages caused by “their sudden policy shift.”
Tabletop Gaming News has reached out to Kickstarter for a comment, but we haven’t heard back from them yet. This article will be updated if and when we do.
Sean
Wednesday 8th of May 2024
Even though I suspect this process will be drawn out far longer than necessary, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Be that as it may, I will 100% give you folks kudos for calling it for what it was from the beginning.
I don't follow Kickstarter as closely as I did during COVID for obvious reasons, so if not for your coverage, I wouldn't have heard about this until much later.
Keep up the fantastic work 👍
Hope
Wednesday 8th of May 2024
Sure, go ahead and sue Kickstarter. Sink more of your money into a temper tantrum over them acting on their clearly-stated TOS. I want to hear a lawyer argue in court that KS can't close a project if they failed to notice something untoward during their initial review.
Sean
Wednesday 8th of May 2024
@Hope, I would love to see it as well.
"As you see here in Exhibit A, written on a cocktail napkin in crayon, it clearly states 'no takesy backsies.'
We allege that this note was written by Kickstarter when the campaign started, and not, as the defense would have you believe, by our unpaid intern in the courtroom bathroom during our recess, earlier this morning."