30% Funded, Tier Updates, and an Incredible Demo Launch

First off, thank you all so much for your support. I'm excited to share that the Kaido Genkai Kickstarter is now over 30% funded! It's been amazing to see so many people rally behind this weird little anime racing RPG, and every pledge genuinely helps bring the game closer to reality.

Kickstarter Tier Updates

I've taken another look at some of the higher-end reward tiers and have reduced pricing on several options that didn't yet have backers. If there was a reward that felt just out of reach before, it may be worth taking another look!

Here's a quick overview of the higher-end personalization tiers (each also come with early access to the game, wallpapers and game credit). Prices are converted from Canadian, so might be slightly off:

Name an NPC

$105 USD - Add an interactable NPC with a name of your choice (no character artwork).

Custom Billboard

$350 USD - Feature your logo, character, message, community, project, or original creation on billboards throughout the world of Kaido Genkai.

Your Character as an NPC

$730 USD - Your original character will appear in-game as an interactable NPC with artwork and minor dialogue. Non-human characters will be adapted into the game's style where appropriate.

Add Your Car

$1,430 USD - Collaborate on a brand-new vehicle for the game (model year 1999 or earlier). This includes both the stock version and a tuned variant with modifications of your choice. This reward is no longer limited to JDM inspired vehicles!

I'd absolutely love to fill the game world with community-created content. Whether it's promoting an indie game, a Youtuber/VTuber, an artist, a cool community, or featuring an original character you've created, I think these personal touches can make Kaido Genkai feel truly unique and memorable.

Steam Demo Off To A Great Start

I'm incredibly happy to report that the Steam demo launch has gone very well so far. The demo has only been available for two days, but already:

• 5,000+ players

• 8,500+ library adds

• 136 reviews

• 95% positive ("Very Positive")

• 43,400+ wishlists (about +2,500 new wishlists)

The response has honestly exceeded my expectations, and it's exciting to see so many people discovering Kaido Genkai for the first time. Steam reviews like this put a smile on my face:

"It has so much potential that can be seen in this demo by itself, it's very unique and reminds me so much to Choro-Q and Auto Modellista. Glad to be a backer, hopefully everything goes great and we can play the full game!"- Mystik

Thank you to everyone who has played, reviewed, shared feedback, reported bugs, and told friends about the game. There's still a lot of work ahead - even the positive reviews are rightfully pointing out what can be improved, but this has been an incredibly encouraging start.

A Small Final Request

If you're already backing the project and would like to help further, there are two incredibly helpful things you can do:

• Upgrade your pledge if one of the newly discounted tiers catches your eye.

• Share the Kickstarter with friends, communities, creators, or anyone who might enjoy anime, racing games, retro games, or indie projects.

Every pledge helps, but every share helps too. Word of mouth has been one of the biggest reasons Kaido Genkai has come this far and is always one of the biggest challenges of these projects.

Thank you again for all the support. The response to both the demo and Kickstarter has been far beyond anything I expected, and I'm excited to keep improving Kaido Genkai over the coming weeks.

"Karoshi" / Kaido Genkai Karoshi Electric Company