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11 Overview
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33 The Solarpunk Kickstarter campaign was the funding event that turned Cyberwave's indie survival project into a fully funded multi-platform title. The campaign ran from May 30 to June 29, 2023, and raised around ten times its modest goal.
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55 Final Numbers
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77 MetricValueCampaign windowMay 30 to June 29, 2023Funding goal30,000 EURTotal raised305,266 EURBackers6,312Funding ratioAround 10x the original goal
88 Stretch Goals Unlocked
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1010 Crossing the 30,000 EUR goal early unlocked a series of stretch goals that broadened Solarpunk's content beyond the original pitch. The unlocked goals included:
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1212 Additional housing decorations: more cosmetic options for player-built homes.Character editor: the ability to customize the player avatar.More plant types: expanded the available crops for farming.Recycling system: a recycling feature that turns surplus items into points usable for cosmetics. See gadgets and tools for details.Expanded building system: added more building materials, including glass for greenhouses and brick, alongside the default wood. See building and construction for the material list.
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1414 Impact on Development
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1616 The Kickstarter funding helped Cyberwave commit to a multi-year development cycle rather than relying solely on publisher advances. The campaign and its stretch goals shaped much of the content that appears in the finished game, from the character editor to the recycling system and the expanded building options.
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1818 Stretch Goals to Shipping Features
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2020 Each of the unlocked stretch goals turned into a system or layer in the finished game, with most of them reshaping how cosmetics and progression work.
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2222 Stretch GoalShipping FormAdditional housing decorationsExpanded building and construction cosmetic options for player homes.Character editorPlayer-avatar customisation that ships with the base game, broadening the personalisation layer beyond named presets.More plant typesWider farming and plants roster that lets players diversify crops across biomes.Recycling systemA reuse loop that converts surplus items into points spendable on cosmetics, folded into gadgets and tools.Expanded building systemAdditional building materials beyond the default wood, including glass for greenhouses and brick for sturdier structures.
2323 Beyond the Campaign
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2525 The Solarpunk campaign page is still publicly maintained with developer updates that backers receive directly. Between the original 2023 funding and the June 8, 2026 launch, the project accumulated nearly 1.2 million Steam wishlists, a much larger audience than the 6,312 Kickstarter backers who initially funded it.
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2727 The contrast is useful context for two reasons. First, the funding came from a small, highly engaged backer pool, which shaped the kinds of features the team prioritised. Second, the launch audience is roughly one hundred and fifty times the backer pool, so the team has signalled an intent to keep updating Solarpunk beyond what the original campaign promised.