Beginning today, Battalion 1944 developer Bulkhead is offering full refunds to any and all Kickstarter backers. Regardless of how much was donated, the time played, or the platform the multiplayer shooter was played on, any player who gave money to its Kickstarter is eligible.
Bulkhead previously confirmed last year it would be refunding console Battalion players who backed the Kickstarter. This announcement came following the end of its relationship with Square Enix, and after years of radio silence regarding the (now cancelled) PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game.
CEO Joe Brammer explained that the widespread refunds were due to the game’s rocky launch, and those now scrapped console ports. “Ultimately, we couldn’t fully deliver on all that we set out to do,” he admitted. Without that initial Kickstarter support, Bulkhead wouldn’t exist today.”
“We want to thank our backers for believing in the project as strongly and as passionately as we did—but as we were unable to accomplish all the goals we initially set, we have decided to fully refund all of our original Kickstarter backers.”
The developers said that instructions for Kickstarter refunds can be found in players’ emails.
A brief history of recent game refunds
It isn’t every day that a developer refunds players for a game’s rough state, let alone Kickstarter backers. But compared to some other high-profile refund stories, Battalion’s situation is much more normal in comparison.
For example, Ubisoft began issuing refunds for its Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake late last year. Prior to its reboot announcement, Ubisoft assured players that the refunds weren’t a sign that the remake had been quietly canceled.
More recently, Paradox Interactive started to issue refunds for Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 back in June. The game was put on indefinite delay back in 2021.