In case you're wondering why Kickstarter backers are up in arms over Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians, there's a good reason for it. The strategy RPG was narrowly funded in 2014, giving fans of the genre hope for a new epic tale. Playdek had teamed up with SRPG mastermind Yasunori Matsuno to create a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics, so many of us were excited by that prospect alone. Unfortunately, those plans have come to a screeching halt following some troubles at Playdek. The developer is now down to a single internal team, meaning an unknown number of projects have been put on hold or delayed. Unsung Story is regrettably one of those projects, sparking a multitude of questions and refund requests from Kickstarter backers.
The Kickstarter update from Playdek announced that the company had lost a few key staff members that led to the move. They also cited the "financial strength" of the company, which raised eyebrows from backers as they'd like to know where the money raised specifically for Unsung Story went. Playdek went on to say that they would pursue the possibility of outsourcing development for the strategy title, but no guarantees have been made. The gradual rollout of the game announced last year is still the plan for Unsung Story's eventual release, but this setback means the dates Playdek mentioned in that update have been affected.
For now, the company has no idea when the Kickstarter title will ever see the light of day. Although the gradual release is still Playdek's goal for the game, they have no idea when that will be possible. A number of backers for the project are understandably displeased with this unfortunate turn of events, as Unsung Story has effectively been all but outright cancelled. One backer has allegedly filed a complaint with their state's Attorney General for fraud. Hopefully things turn around and Unsung Story gets released without having suffered a significant blow because of Playdek's troubles, but at this point it seems unlikely.
