Get ready for equity-based fun!

Atari Games have announced the return of the hugely popular RollerCoaster Tycoon, though its announcement could be potentially soured by the news that the game will be funded through an ‘equity-based crowd fund’ – pretty sexy language there, am I right?

So, what is this equity-based crowd fund? Well, fans of the series will have the chance to put their own money into the game’s development like any other crowd funded project. The difference with Tycoon’s idea is that the more money you put in, the bigger the stake you have in the game. It’s a good idea in theory, with Atari Games stressing that the project allows ‘fans and investors to participate in the future of RollerCoaster Tycoon.’

Though, much like how DLC has led to the chop-shop style of games we have today, or how loot boxes quickly became a way a vacuuming up the spare change of players, this ‘equity-based crowd funding’ project has the same sniff of cow-based excrement – or bullshit. Why? Well, the press release quickly begins to shift away from this player-powered project, instead promising that investors will certainly be ‘informed about the development’ of RollerCoaster Tycoon but will only be ‘potentially’ involved in the choices that shape the game. The word ‘potentially’ casts a huge amount of doubt over how much people who have put their cold, hard cash into the game will directly or indirectly involved with the game.

It’s a shame that the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, which has pocketed around $220 million in the US alone, has decided to rely on such a dicey means to develop the incoming Switch title. Had it been a conventional development process, this article would’ve been entirely different. And who knows? Maybe those who invest will get to put some real input into the game’s development… maybe.