Spicy Horse have made the decision to abandon their Kickstarter for OZombie. The crowd funding campaign had 3 weeks left but had only raised $141,513 of its $950,00 goal. American McGee broke the news via the Kickstarter page and wrote:
"The Oz campaign has to end. There are two realities driving the decision. First, we're facing a challenge with the Alice film rights. Second, we wouldn't consider shutting down the Oz campaign if it were trending towards success. As it is, we've reached 15 percent of our goal with 20 days left in the campaign. Projections suggest we'll hit 30 percent of our goal by campaign end. I've been telling myself to remain optimistic and see this thing through – but when the reality of our funding trend is combined with the pressure of the Alice film rights situation..."
Hang about, Alice film rights? There may not be a third Alice game after all. Turns out the trilogy may be capped off instead with a film. McGee explains.
"For Oz, we can always launch another campaign in the future. On the other hand, the Alice film rights are only within reach during a rapidly closing window of opportunity. We'll sacrifice Oz today in order to have a real chance with Alice. Now we turn our attention to Alice. Securing these film rights would be nothing short of a major coup. We'd control a significant portion of Alice's future. Being able to produce animations, feature films and related merchandise means keeping Alice's world fresh, no matter what else might happen with the game portion of the property. I hope you'll join us in making this a reality."
Well, that's quite a turn around. This may not be the end of the road for OZombie but a mere road block. McGee does not seem to be ruling out returning to OZombie at some point in the future. However Spicy Horse needs all of their resources to secure the Alice film rights so, at least for the time being, OZombie will have to return to whence it came. A Kickstarter in aid of making an Alice film a reality will go up some time next week. Watch this space.
