Project Phoenix Kickstarter timeline

Dates that two sources agree on

12 August 2013: the Kickstarter opens with a $100,000 goal. 11 September 2013: it closes at $1,014,600 from 15,802 backers, a bit over ten times the goal. The page lists 154 updates, and the last one visible on 12 November 2026 is dated 21 October 2026.

The original hope, reported by Kotaku, was a March 2015 release. In December 2015 the date moved to 2018. VGC describes 2019 as the year social channels and Kickstarter updates went quiet. On 7 July 2026 the project posted again, with a short prototype and a new Uematsu theme.

Money, accusations, and what backers hold

AUTOMATON’s Japanese recap says the 2015 delay came with a statement that funds had run out. VGC’s 2026 interview has Yura saying about $800,000 actually arrived and that refunds were not being offered. I mark the $800,000 line as one source.

The public dispute on record is Tariq Lacy’s 2017 accusation, withdrawn in 2018 with a settlement. Yura denied misuse and said Tiny Metal was funded by a separate $350,000 private round. I am not turning that into a broader court history.

Reward tiers still sit on the Kickstarter page. Nothing on that page, or in the 2026 interview, says backers can download a build today. The download page is explicit: the JRPG has no public file.

What the 2026 restart actually showed

The 7 July 2026 post is the first campaign update in seven years, according to Kotaku and VGC. It came with a prototype of about a minute and a half and a new theme from Nobuo Uematsu. VGC describes a team of more than thirty at Area 35. I treat that headcount as the interview’s figure, not a payroll I can audit.

The page’s own update counter still says 154 updates, and the newest stamp I saw on 12 November 2026 was 21 October 2026. That stamp is not a ship announcement. People searching “kickstarter project phoenix update” usually want this timeline in one place: funded in 2013, slipped from 2015 to 2018, quiet from 2019, speaking again in 2026, aiming to finish development at the end of 2031.

If the question is whether you can play it this year, the answer on the release-date page is no. The horror game that did ship in 2024 is a different studio and a different store app.

Video