Long-Awaited RPG That Raised Over $1 Million on Kickstarter in 2013 Shares First Update in Seven Years, Targeting Completion by Late 2031
In 2013, the Kickstarter campaign for Project Phoenix managed to pull in over $1 million. The development team initially projected a release date of March 2015. However, by December 2015, they announced that the game would be delayed until 2018. Fast forward to 2019, and after missing that deadline, the Kickstarter page went quiet. Now, seven years later, and following a global pandemic, fans have received a new update along with a revised release year: 2031. Ouch.
On July 7, backers of Project Phoenix, described by developer CIA, Inc. as “a JRPG” with “squad-based RTS game design,” received an unexpected, detailed private update from the game’s directors and producer, Hiroaki Yura. One backer shared the full update on a community forum, allowing everyone to read Yura’s lengthy apology for the delays and the new plan for finally launching this long-awaited RPG.
“It has been seven years since my last update. I’m not going to soften that or bury it further down the page,” Yura stated. “You backed this project, you trusted me with it, and then you heard nothing for a very long time. That silence is mine to answer for. I owe you a full explanation, and more than that, I owe you proof that Project Phoenix is still alive.”
Yura explained that the long silence was due to his “rule” of only posting updates when he had something “worth showing.” Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case for the past seven years. He now acknowledges that going dark for nearly a decade was “the wrong call.” An interview provided by VGC included some gameplay footage, which you can check out.
In his update, Yura also addressed concerns from the community regarding his work on other games since the Project Phoenix Kickstarter launched. He reassured backers that no Kickstarter funds were used for those projects and that, in fact, the revenue from those games has been funneled back into Project Phoenix. He emphasized, “We did not get rich off [those games]. We are not anywhere close to rich. Whatever room those projects create goes straight back into being able to finish Phoenix the way it should be finished.”
“Not every dollar was spent as well as it could have been,” Yura admitted. “And I am not going to tell you otherwise. But all of it went into this game and its production, never anywhere else. Since then, I have made sure the rest is funded properly, so that your contribution is not the thing holding it up.”
In the update, Yura shared a new, fully recorded main theme song from Nobuo Uematsu, although it remains a “rough mix” and not the final version. The update also included a two-minute gameplay video showcasing a “prototype” that is still a “work in progress.” Keep in mind, this game was originally slated for a 2015 launch, then pushed to 2018.
Now, Yura aims to wrap up production on the RPG “at the end of 2031,” with a release date to be announced afterward. If we’re optimistic and assume Project Phoenix actually lands in 2031, that would mean an 18-year gap—nearly two decades—between its reveal and release. And you thought the wait for the next big title was long?
