A new chapter has opened regarding a controversial card game Kickstarter. The CCG project, Wonders of the First, is being removed from the platform, despite raising $1.4 million during its campaign. The reason why involves some of Kickstarter's policies and the campaign's use of NFTs.
The Wonders of the First CCG Kickstarter Controversy
According to the campaign page, Wonders of the First launched on April 30 2024. At first glance, it appeared to be a glossy, ambitious collectible card game. The campaign included tokens, starter decks, stretch goals, and massive boxes of booster packs.
In under half an hour, it reached its initial funding goal of $25,000 and has raised $1,455,417 since then. In many respects, the Wonders of the First campaign was an absolute success.
However, under closer scrutiny courtesy of Tabletop Gaming News, it was clear something was off about the project. While studio CEO Jeff French's denies that the project is an NFT game, the game's official website tells a different story.
In the FAQ section, the official Wonders of the First website describes the project thus:
Wonders of The First is a groundbreaking collectable adventure franchise built on the blockchain using a blend of art-forward storytelling, Web3 technology, and AI innovation. The project boasts a never-before-seen collection of 5,000 unique 1/1 characters, brought to life through human imagination, AI, and meticulous hand refinement.
The FAQs also explain the game's character proofs. If you backed the game's limited edition booster box tier, you would be rewarded one of 5000 proofs. These proofs were minted using proof-of-stake Ethereum. Owning a proof would grant you early access to the game's beta and "serve as the gateway to IP ownership within the Wonders of the First franchise."
Functionally, these character proofs are just NFTs with some marketing spin. Not helping the matter is studio Blokpax's shady history within the NFT space and the project's listed team of designers having very little online presence or history in game development.
As for why Kickstarter is removing the project from their platform, it isn't necessarily due to the presence of NFTs, but their function. Offering backers a chance to own a piece of Wonders of the First IP rights, constitutes offering backers a promise of "equity" or similar financial instruments, which is a breach of the platform's policies.
To this end, Kickstarter informed French on May 7th that the campaign would be removed within 48 hours. In an update post, French disagrees with the decision but confirms all backers pledges will be automatically canceled once the project is removed.
