27 Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All-Time [2020 Update]

by | Jan 3, 2020

These 27 Kickstarter projects were WAY more popular than you were in high school.

But that wasn’t exactly hard to do now was it?

Wait, that was mean.

Sorry.

 


The Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time


 

1. Pebble Time Smartwatch – $20 Million (February 2015)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Here’s a headline for ya.

If Pebble Time launched today, it wouldn’t crack $100k.

Yeah, you read that right.

By today’s standards, this smartwatch was simply archaic.

But back in 2015? It was truly cutting edge.

Which helped Pebble Time become the most funded campaign in Kickstarter history.

What’s going on at Pebble now?

Well they sold to Fitbit in 2016 for a mere $40 million.

But Fitbit was only in it for Pebble’s software, not its hardware, and shut down support for these watches in mid-2018.

A bitter end for a once feel-good story — much like my first marriage.

 

 

2. Coolest Cooler – $13.3 Million (July 2014)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Holy sh*t this thing had a built-in blender?!

No wonder The Coolest Cooler was the 2nd most funded Kickstarter campaign of all-time.

This cooler was packed full of techy features way ahead of its time.

But one look through the comments section will tell you they’re having some delivery issues.

And, uh, the campaign ended five years ago.

 

 

3. Pebble 2 Smartwatch – $12.8 Million (May 2016)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Aw crap I accidentally copy pasted that first project again.

Wait a sec…

That says Pebble 2.

That’s right, Pebble was behind two of the top three most funded Kickstarter projects of all time.

Unless you skipped our initial description to read this one first…

(Which would be a little odd.)

You know that Fitbit basically drove the brand into the ground by mid-2018.

 

 

4. Kingdom Death Monster 1.5 – $12.4 Million (November 2016)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

Kingdom Death, eh?

Sounds ominous.

This dark board game attracted nearly 20,000 backers back in 2016… and 196,000 comments on their campaign page.

I used my powers of summation to conclude that not all backers have received this game, but the company is alive and well, selling even newer versions of the game on its website.

 

 

5. Travel Tripod by Peak Design – $12.1 million (July 2019)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Peak Design’s 9th project was a DOOZY.

Most tripods are about as bulky as a baby elephant.

But the Travel Tripod by Peak Design is as sleek as it gets.

Made with absurdly lightweight carbon fiber, this all-in-one tripod can go absolutely anywhere and handle absolutely anything.

It features rapid-deploy legs and is half the size of other full-function tripods.

So no, if you suck at photography, this won’t make you the next Instagram influencer.

But it’ll get you damn close.

 

 

6. Critical Role – The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special – $11.4 million (April 2019)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

I got about a million emails saying I needed to update this list to include Critical Role.

But I really didn’t want to.

Why?

Well I’m exceptionally lazy.

And that would have required more work.

But here I am, slaving away to keep this list fully updated and in tip-top shape.

Critial Role had the biggest day one in Kickstarter history, raising a whopping $4.7 million in 24 hours.

To put that in perspective, I won’t make that much money over the course of my entire career.

If you need me, I’ll be weeping silently in the bathroom.

 

 


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7. Pebble E-Paper Watch – $10.2 Million (April 2012)

 

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Are you freakin’ serious?!

Again?!?!

Yup, Pebble had three of the top five Kickstarter projects of all time.

For those keeping score at home, they raised over $43 million in crowdfunding between their three projects.

They sold their company to Fitbit for $40 million.

Now I’m no Mark Cuban, but with sales numbers like that, that valuation is far from good.

 

 

8. Baubax Travel Jacket – $9.2 Million (July 2015)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

The original Baubax jacket had more features than a Swiss Army Knife, which is why this stylish travel jacket attracted nearly 45,000 backers in 2015.

They actually launched Baubax 2.0 at the beginning of 2018, but this one didn’t do quite as well, finishing at around $4 million.

But when $4 million is “bad,” you’re doing something right.

 

 

9. Exploding Kittens – $8.8 million (January 2015)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

If you’ve never played Exploding Kittens, I have just one question for you:

What the heck is wrong with you??

Even though it’s number nine on the list, Exploding Kittens is arguably Kickstarter’s crown jewel.

Not only did this insanely fun game raise a ton of money, its creators delivered the game to 220,000 backers on time and now run a thriving company.

If you missed out, don’t worry.

You can now get Exploding Kittens on Amazon.

 

10. OUYA Video Game Console – $8.6 Million (July 2012)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

The best selling game console on Cyber Monday last year wasn’t PS4 or XBox One — it was OUYA.

Just kidding.

These guys got bought by Razer in 2015, and never made another console.

 

 

11. Snapmaker 2.0 – Modular 3D Printer – $7.8 million (June 2019)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

3D printers…

As mysterious to me as the inner workings of a woman’s heart.

They’re undoubtably cool, yes.

But holy crap are they complicated.

Well, they used to be.

Because Kickstarter’s Snapmaker 2.0 made insanely intricate 3D printing delightfully easy.

This all-metal printer is built to last a lifetime, with exceptionally high-quality components and a modern look that’s undeniably eye-catching.

 

12. The 7th Continent – $7.1 Million (September 2017)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

Maybe I just Googled, “How many continents are there,” and maybe I didn’t.

All you need to know is that there are, in fact, already seven continents.

This exploration board game took Kickstarter by storm at the end of 2017.

 

 

13. The Everyday Backpack, Tote, & Sling – $6.6 Million (July 2016) 

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

There have been more backpack projects launched on Kickstarter in the last year than ants on a fallen popsicle in the middle of July.

But this backpack beat the crowd to market and was the first truly mega-hit backpack on Kickstarter.

 

 

14. Fidget Cube – $6.5 Million (August 2016)

 

Most Funded Kickstarter Projects of All Time

 

 

 

One day you’ll be gathered around the kitchen table with your grandkids.

“Children,” you’ll say, “I’m old enough to remember when fidget cubes were more popular than fidget spinners!”

Then they’ll look at you like you’re crazy because both fads will have long faded from everyone else’s memory by then.

But at the end of 2016, fidget cubes were most certainly IN.

A ton of cheap knockoffs piggybacked off of Fidget Cube’s success, but they still had a supremely nice payday.

 

 

15. Shemue III – $6.3 million (June 2015)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

Anytime I see 132,000 comments on a Kickstarter campaign page, I know some sh*t went DOWN.

It does look like Shenue III will be released on PS4 soon

The only problem?

This campaign ended over four years ago.

(Although people do seem to really like the demo.)

Check back in October 2024 to see how people like the actual game!

 

 

16. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon – $6.2 Million (December 2018)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

Tainted Grail was created by Awaken Realms, who have launched nine wildly successful Kickstarter games.

They launched Etherfields in late summer 2019, which raised a whopping $4.8 million.

$11 million from two projects?

That’s almost as much as I made that summer I umpired little league baseball games.

Man, I miss those days.

(Except for the ThunderBirds coach, he was a jerk.)

 

 

17. Pono Music Player – $6.2 Million (March 2014)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

 

“Holy crap this thing is bad… an atrocious display with abominable viewing angels.”

Yikeeeeeeeeeeees.

That’s what Linus Tech Tips said about the Pono Music Player.

Was technology really THIS bad back in 2014?!

It’s like a glorified iPod Nano with half the functionally and 4x the price!

 

 

18. Bring Back Mystery Science Theater 3000 – $5.8 million (November 2015)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

This is actually a pretty cool story.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 — MST3K — started on local-access public television in Minnesota back in the late 80s.

It ran for over a decade before getting cancelled in 1999.

Then the show’s original creators launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to bring it back, and those jokers actually pulled it off!

The newest 14-episode season (bankrolled by Kickstarter backers) premiered on Netflix in 2017.

 

 

19. The Veronica Mars Movie Project – $5.7 Million (March 2013)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

Another one?!

Much like MST3K, The Veronica Mars Movie Project relied on old fans to re-boot a cancelled classic show.

After raising nearly $6 million on Kickstarter, they premiered a 108-minute movie that raised…

A supremely disappointing $2.6 million at the box office.

But it does have a respectable 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, so the news isn’t ALL bad.

 

 

20. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – $5.5 million (May 2015)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

IGN calls Bloodstained, “A game worthy of its heritage.”

Which is kind of like my grandpa saying I can’t be “that” ugly because I look somewhat like him.

 

 

21. Bring Reading Rainbow Back – $5.4 million (May 2014)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

What happens after your raise over $5 million on Kickstarter?

YOU GET SUED!

(Apparently.)

LeVar Burton, the face of Reading Rainbow, was sued by a PBS affiliate who owned the show’s trademarks.

They settled.

And Burton can now continue using the Reading Rainbow brand.

Ahhh, America.

 

 

22. Xeric Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Automatic Watch – $5.4 million (August 2019)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

This one was ALL about timing.

Their campaign overlapped perfectly with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Think it was all a hoax?

Put on your tinfoil hat and stop readin’ now, buddy.

How’d a watch raise $5.4 million?

Well they’re really freakin’ cool.

Intricate maps of our solar system glow in the dark and give you the sense that you’re ACTUALLY looking out into space when you’re really just staring at your wrist.

 

 

 

23. ZeTime: World’s First Smartwatch With Hands Over Touchscreen – $5.3 Million (March 2017)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

We’ve all heard the old joke:

“What time is your dentist appointment?”

“Tooth-hurty.”

But have you heard THIS one?

“What did the basil say to the parsley at the end of its life?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re running out of thyme.”

I think that one’s WAY better.

(Mostly because I just made it up.)

Anyway, ZeTime raised a boatload of money because they put actual hands on a smartwatch.

Which is, apparently, a desirable feature.

 

 

24. The Travel Line by Peak Design – $5.2 Million (July 2018)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

I am so SICK of Kickstarter backpacks.

Wait…

Did I say that out loud?

Peak Design has had more successful Kickstarter campaigns than I’ve had girlfriends.

(Which really isn’t saying much.)

Still, pretty much anything they touch turns to Kickstarter gold.

And these highly versatile travel bags were no different.

 

 

25. Redefining Italian Watches: Filippo Loreti – $5.2 Million (November 2016)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

Italy is known for three things:

  1. Long haired, bearded men.
  2. Meatballs.
  3. Kickstarter watches.

 

 

26. Zombicide: Green Horde – $5.0 Million (May 2017)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

The Walking Dead has been on since I was in high school.

To put that in perspective, I just celebrated my 61st birthday.

JK, I’m not that old.

But it does go to show that zombies are most certainly IN right now.

And if you combine that theme with Kickstarter’s most popular category (board games)…

Success is all but guaranteed.

 

 

27. Dark Souls: The Board Game – $4.9 Million (April 2016)

 

All Time Most Funded Kickstarter Projects

 

 

You know who had a dark soul?

My ex-wife.

That is all.

 

 


Check out the most funded Kickstarter projects of 2019!

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