Bulkhead Interactive has announced that it will be providing refunds to every Kickstarter backer that supported itsBattalion 1944campaign. Over 10,000 backers would contribute to theBattalion 1944campaign in 2016, bringing funds raised to over £300,000. While it did help enable Bulkhead to launchBattalion 1944in early 2019 on PC, its popularity quickly dwindled and ports for console were never finished. Bulkhead has since been acquired bySplash Damage, and a decision has been made to issue refunds for Kickstarter backers.As its name would imply,Battalion 1944is a multiplayerfirst-person shooter set during World War 2. It’s heavily inspired by early multiplayer first-person WW2 shooters in the genre, includingMedal of HonorandCall of Duty. Game modes include classic Search & Destroy with 5v5 team-based action, Team Deathmatch, and also Rifles Only. Despite early success,Battalion 1944’s popularity has shrunk significantly. Bulkhead has since ended support and production ofBattalion 1944and has made the game free asBattalion: Legacy.RELATED:Shroud and Sacriel Are Making an Open World Survival Game With Splash DamageIn a video message posted on Twitter, Bulkhead announced that it would be refunding all Kickstarter pledges from its 2016 campaign. Refunds would be offered for everyone that contributed, regardless of their platform of choice or tier of contribution.Kickstarter backers ofBattalion 1944will still have to claim the refund, with instructions provided via the email address associated with their account.
Bulkhead apologized, saying that it “flew too close to the sun” and promised more than it was capable of providing at the time. That’s perhaps in reference to Bulkhead never finishing the console versions ofBattalion 1944. Regardless, Bulkhead says that “sometimes you have to admit when something just isn’t right and move on.” It’s implied that Bulkhead has been saving money to refund Kickstarter backers for some time, but it was the acquisition by Splash Damage that enabled the refunds to go through.
The team at Bulkhead also loudly shares its thanks to all those that not only backed theBattalion 1944Kickstarter, but supported the game through the years. It says that whileBattalion 1944didn’t work out as planned, its enabled Bulkhead to move forward. Refunding Kickstarter backers is Bulkhead’s way of rebuilding trust that may have been lost, with a mind for the future.
For the time being, Bulkhead has not announced a new project since the release ofKillrunin 2022, though it has beenworking with Splash Damage onTransformers Reactivate. However, there are hints that an announcement could be coming before long. Just last week, a message on Twitter stated that there were “BIG things coming from this team.“Battalion 1944is just one chapter Bulkhead is hoping to put behind it.
