Palestinian game developer concludes crowdfund almost $50,000 over goal

Palestinian game developer Rasheed Abueideh has concluded his crowdfund for a pseudo-3D stealth adventure inspired by a historical Palestinian folk tale almost $50,000 over the original funding goal.

Abueideh took the crowdfund for Dreams on a Pillow to Launch Good after "facing a decade of rejection and avoidance from funding partners and publishers who deemed supporting a Palestinian 'too risky' or 'controversial'."

"The team has attempted to raise publisher funding and cultural grants for the project, but has consistently been rejected," the Crowdfund page explains.

"A single publisher responded positively to funding inquiries, one that has experiences in games with sensitive topics - but sadly, even for them, the risk of a Palestinian story was too large."

Dreams on a Pillow originally set out to raise around $195,000 but closed at just over $244,000, although Abueideh acknowledged that to realise the final project, he will need to secure around $495,000 to "pay for salaries, outsourcing, and asset creation." However, the money raised from the crowdfund can "move the game from pre-production into a production state."

Abueideh thanked the 3336 supporters who funded his project on BlueSky,saying it will "make history in the games industry."