The Unfortunate Demise of Drag Her: A Crowdfunded Fighting Game

Drag Her, a unique 2D fighting game featuring real-life drag artists, successfully raised $69,000 on Kickstarter in February 2022. However, despite meeting its funding goal, the game's development was officially shut down in May 2024 due to a lack of funds. This unexpected turn of events has raised questions about the game's financial management and the challenges faced by indie game developers. According to Ian Ramsay, the studio's director and producer, the Kickstarter campaign was intended to demonstrate the game's market potential and attract further investment. The team had already spent a year developing a demo with one drag fighter before launching the Kickstarter campaign, which was used to fund a polished vertical slice of the game. This slice was then presented to investors to secure additional funding. Ramsay acknowledges that the team may not have clearly communicated the game's funding needs to its backers, which could have contributed to the project's demise. Despite the game's positive reception at events like Evo, a prestigious fighting game tournament, the team struggled to secure funding. Ramsay believes that the game's queer cast and theme may have been a factor in its lack of appeal to investors. The team attempted to seek funding from progressive organizations and publishers, but ultimately, no deal materialized. The game's cancellation has sparked concerns about the state of LGBT representation in the gaming industry. Ramsay notes that the industry's lack of diversity and inclusivity can make it challenging for queer developers to bring their projects to life. Nevertheless, he encourages other queer developers to continue pursuing their passion projects, as someone may eventually find the right combination of genre and audience to make a queer-forward game successful.