Developers Behind Apocalypse Now Kickstarter Now Ask for $5 Million, Officially Aim for 2020 Release

Last month, a Kickstarter campaign was announced for an official videogame adaptation of Apocalypse Now, with the funding goal set at $900,000. As of this writing, Erebus LLC has raised less than $173,000, and the number is slowly dropping—the campaign has just nine days remaining.

Officially sanctioned by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola and co-produced by American Zoetrope (his personal production company), the Apocalypse Now game is being tackled by a collective of veteran RPG developers. This team includes writer Rob Auten (Gears of War, Battlefield), executive producer Lawrence Liberty (Fallout: New Vegas, The Witcher), director Montgomery Markland (Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera), and Design Director at Obsidian Entertainment, Josh Sawyer (who is serving as “external counsel to the team”).

Today, as reported by Polygon, the developers have revealed a new funding goal of $5 million, saying now that their crowdfunding efforts will continue well past the end of their likely doomed Kickstarter campaign. Backers can now kick in toward the game’s development via the official Apocalypse Now website. Director Markland cited the methods used by the devs behind Star Citizen for inspiration, who, years after a successful Kickstarter campaign of their own, still crowdfund for the game well after its release. Markland also cited the 10-year production process that led up to the release of the original 1979 film.

The team will also work to keep their supporters engaged with the project by releasing some backer rewards early, as well as by releasing a demo set in protagonist Willard’s cramped hotel room from the beginning of Coppola’s film.

The team also confirmed the estimated release window of the year 2020 that had been previously posted on the Kickstarter page. If you happen to have an extra $727,000 burning a hole in your bank account, you can head here to rescue the team’s Kickstarter campaign. If not, check out the game’s official website here for the updated crowdfunding options. Be sure to check back with Paste when the campaign comes to a close and more updates roll out regarding this game.