Veteran game developer Cliff Bleszinski has made an undisclosed investment into fledgling crowdfunding platform Fig, which differs from Kickstarter in that it allows backers to invest directly into games and earn profits from their sale.
The news came in the form of a blog post from the company’s COO, Justin Bailey.
“Everyone knows his work from the Unreal and Gears of War series, and recently Boss Key’s debut title LawBreakers. But Cliff is also dedicated to helping the industry grow in healthy ways, for game projects of all sizes to get made and be successful,” Bailey wrote.
For his part, Bleszinski told Forbes that he’s excited to be part of the platform: “When it comes to my personal involvement, it’s one of those things where it’s one more venue to have their dream game become a reality, as opposed to the bake sale with the traditional publishers. It’s just one of those things where you’re backing things with your own money that you actually believe in.”
Bleszinski isn’t the only game industry luminary who’s “involved” with the site, as he put it on Twitter — the platform’s advisory board includes Indie Fund co-founder Aaron Isaksen, Double Fine president and CEO Tim Schafer, inXile Entertainment CEO Brian Fargo, Harmonix CCO Alex Rigopulos, and Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart. However, Bleszinski will not be joining the board, Gamasutra can confirm.