Fig, the crowdfunding/investment platform, has been approved by the SEC and can now accept equity investments from just about anyone. When Fig launched, there were only two ways to give money to a game you wanted to see made. You could either be an accredited investor, who would potentially receive money back on their investment, or the more common reward-tier system for backers. Now non-accredited backers can also throw their cash into the games they want and potentially receive some return on that investment.
When Psychonauts 2 launched its Fig campaign, it did include an option for non-accredited investors, but none of their money could actually be taken until the SEC reviewed Fig. Now that Fig passes their test, they can not only collect on those original investment promises, but going forward are the only company approved to accept non-accredited payments. This means Fig has a leg up on the competition and will look better to potential larger investors.
Fig has quietly continued to announce new games coming to through their system. Just the other day they announced Wasteland 3 will be crowdfunded through Fig. It’s pretty nice to see crowdfunding become more legitimate as an investment opportunity.