“Eternal Court” Crowdfunding Crisis: ¥400,000 Raised, Only Half-Finished Product Delivered

In a recent controversy shaking the domestic visual novel community, the Chinese GAL game “Eternal Court” (《永生之庭》) has become embroiled in a severe trust crisis, with disillusioned players dubbing it a “cyber Myanmar scam.” The project successfully raised approximately ¥400,000 through crowdfunding but ultimately delivered only a half-finished product to its backers. Compounding the issue, official promises to completely rewrite the storyline have yet to materialize, leaving supporters in limbo.

The game was initially marketed as a “pure love harem AVG,” with explicit guarantees that all routes would lead to happy endings. However, the delivered version starkly contradicts these promises, incorporating dark, brutal narrative elements and featuring character sprites and CG illustrations for secondary male characters—a significant departure from the original pitch that has deeply alienated the target audience.

Following the backlash, the development team reportedly began mass-removing critics from official community channels, raising further concerns about transparency. Many backers now suspect the producer may have abandoned the project entirely, warning others to remain vigilant against similar online fundraising schemes.

The producer, who previously claimed to deeply understand the preferences of pure love genre fans, acknowledged the creative misalignment and announced plans to reset the narrative and remove controversial content after securing the crowdfunding funds. However, weeks have passed with no visible progress on these promised revisions.

This incident has reignited discussions within the industry about the sustainability of crowdfunding mechanisms for niche game genres, highlighting the delicate balance between creative freedom and honoring contractual obligations to supporters who invest based on specific promises. As one backer lamented, “What hurts most isn’t just the money—it’s the betrayal of trust we placed in a project we genuinely wanted to succeed.”