Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Book of Travels did not have a good launch, Might and Delight let devs go

By - | Views: 18,884

Times are tough for some developers with the latest victim of a poor release being Book of Travels from Might and Delight.

Following on from a successful crowdfunding campaign for their small online RPG, the developer managed to raise around £207,362. That was back towards the end of 2019 and it saw a few delays before entering Early Access in October 2021. Seems the release did not go as well as they had hoped.

Writing in a joint update on Steam and Kickstarter, the developer said:

In light of the launch not going quite as well as we had hoped, we have had to make some rather big, and difficult, cutbacks to our beloved team. In order to stay alive, we have been forced to cut down our team from around 35 people to 10 people. Saying goodbye to so many skilled, trusted and loved Might and Delighters has been, without a shadow of a doubt, our most difficult test in our 11 year history.

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

The remaining team make it clear they're still going with it and the game will continue to see updates, but naturally upcoming planned content will be affected by letting go so many people for an already small team. One thing they've done is put up the soundtrack and a 'Cup of Kindness' DLC on Steam for people to buy to support them some extra.

Book of Travels is definitely a unique experience, and the bugs at release certainly didn't help (many of which they've solved) and the glacial pace the game progresses at is easily a turn off for a lot of people. Hopefully though, they can continue to realise their full plan for Book of Travels eventually.

You can find Book of Travels on Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
9 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
10 comments

slapin Dec 22, 2021
  • Supporter Plus
How come early access launch can fail?
Eike Dec 22, 2021
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Somebody at the Steam announcement mentioned that 35 people seems quite a big team for an indie game...

Hope all the best for them!
Purple Library Guy Dec 22, 2021
Quoting: EikeSomebody at the Steam announcement mentioned that 35 people seems quite a big team for an indie game...
To be honest, that was my gut reaction.
Anza Dec 22, 2021
Quoting: slapinHow come early access launch can fail?

I would assume that early access is both important for feedback and funding. That Kickstarter funding alone doesn't last long with team of 35.
F.Ultra Dec 22, 2021
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: Anza
Quoting: slapinHow come early access launch can fail?

I would assume that early access is both important for feedback and funding. That Kickstarter funding alone doesn't last long with team of 35.

Less than £6000 per person, that would be roughly one month pay for a highly skilled dev over here. Yeah that won't last long.

edit: and the studio is really from "over here" as well.


Last edited by F.Ultra on 22 December 2021 at 9:38 pm UTC
Samsai Dec 23, 2021
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Anza
Quoting: slapinHow come early access launch can fail?

I would assume that early access is both important for feedback and funding. That Kickstarter funding alone doesn't last long with team of 35.

Less than £6000 per person, that would be roughly one month pay for a highly skilled dev over here. Yeah that won't last long.

edit: and the studio is really from "over here" as well.
Even junior devs you wouldn't be able to have for more than a couple months and that's stretching it. So, the crowdfunding money probably ran out already by early 2020 and they probably ran on savings and maybe goodwill for almost two years until they got some money from Early Access, but not enough to cover the losses.

Hopefully the 25 being let go find something else.
Anza Dec 23, 2021
I did also some digging and this is not their first game by far (Liam has actually mentioned that in few of the previous articles). Based on review activity only Book of Travels is trending at the moment. If you want to support them, there's bunch of more Linux native games listed here: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/mightanddelight. Especially the Linux native games have almost all 75% discount, so they're pretty cheap.

Liam has done bunch of articles about their games (search includes several unrelated articles, but most of it is relevant): https://www.gamingonlinux.com/search-articles/?q=%22might+and+delight%22&strict=on
Liam Dawe Dec 23, 2021
Quoting: GuestYes, 35 devs is not small. It places the game at an AA level.
Depends what definition you go for really, so many people think differently on it. Going by WikiPedia or IGN, it doesn't fit what either claim is AA as it's too small. More like Triple-I for a bigger indie. Regardless though, people constantly underestimate what it takes to make even a slightly bigger "indie" game. The fact is, they were self-published and self-funded, so it's indie to me.
slapin Dec 23, 2021
  • Supporter Plus
Why indies can't do AA games?
slaapliedje Dec 23, 2021
The only game of theirs I currently have seem to be Blue Flamingo... which weirdly is also the only game they have released that was Windows only. Beautiful game that I have not played much. Their art style is amazing.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.