The Banner 3's Kickstarter ends in victory

The crowdfunding campaign for The Banner Saga 3 [official site] has wrapped up and -- surprise! -- seems enough folks do want to see the Norse fantasy turn-based strategy game through to the end. As well as hitting its goal, the Kickstarter campaign hit several stretch goals. The second game improved on the first a lot, so fingers crossed that this trend will continue and Stoic will slam jam a home dunk runaround across the starboard pitch this time.

Stoic were seeking $200,000 (£165,000-ish) to help fund development of the trilogy-capping Norse 'em up, and ended up with $416,986 (£343k) pledged. That pushed them past four stretch goals, which means The Banner Saga 3 should also see the return of Ubin the Scrivener, three playable Dredge heroes, and two extra modes. Such as this one:

"Survival Mode is a battle-focused gameplay mode, where you face a series of increasingly difficult battles. You start with 6 units available, and can unlock more with renown as you progress. Each battle features one item-equipped enemy, giving you the chance to obtain items through victory. Characters that fall in battle are permanently dead, and you have a limited number of reloads available to make it through to the final, 40th, battle."

And t'other:

"Eternal Arena is a new game mode that we have devised, which pits your best combat tactics against quick-play challenges. Participate in weekly tournaments to prove the superiority of your tactics, and use the sandbox-style options to test out your wildest ideas, different gameplay rules, and alternate turn order mechanics. Unlock new Eternal Arena achievements to gain access to more units, more ranks, and more items, and more fun! We have heard your requests for something like Eternal Arena, and we will be happy to bring you a new mode that will satisfy some new gameplay angles."

The Banner Saga 3 was slated to arrived in December 2018 but I wouldn't be surprised if work on stretch goals pushed it back a touch. Though given that Kickstarters fund ideas rather than specs, as Torment's morphing stretch goals showed, who knows what shape the final game will take? Probably exactly as planned now but, y'know, remember.