Today, Credenzio Studios announced that the Kickstarter campaign for its persistent multiplayer medieval simulator, Lionhearts, has officially reached its funding goal. Initially launched on June 19, the funding goal was set at $100,000.
Despite only being up for one day, Lionhearts’ Kickstarter campaign managed to raise $53,551. Now, with 9 days left to spare, the simulator has raised $101,822 from 383 backers. The next goal is $200,000, which, if achieved, would result in the release of a Pre-Alpha version of the game where players can test out some key elements of the core gameplay loop.
Lionhearts is set during the 12th-century Third Crusade, featuring a single, persistent open world centered around the city of Jerusalem, including 12 player-run kingdoms and four military orders with every position of power available to players. There will also be 14 guild types and 66 professions for anyone who wants to play a more passive role. Religion and influence also play a vital role, and the entire concept is based on a comprehensive sandbox simulation of a medieval world slice.
Above, you can check out a cinematic trailer and a demo showcasing the visuals of one of the locations in development. The demo itself can already be downloaded and enjoyed on your own PC. You can also take a look at the developer’s description of its key features below:
- Persistent Open World: Lionhearts will contain a single, persistent open world where servers are stitched together into a seamless shared experience. Every location will exist in only one instance—no server hopping or loading screens required. Supply and demand will be shaped by a scarcity of resources. Each fief will be unique and owned by a single individual.
- Trade: With 14 guild types and 66 professions (such as blacksmith, merchant, etc.), players can roleplay to their heart’s desire. Players can control entire industries by founding guilds, setting prices, and monopolizing resources.
- Kingdoms: With 12 player-run kingdoms and 4 military orders, every position of power, from lord to king, is controlled by real players. Players command retinues, wage wars, and navigate diplomacy in a dynamic, unscripted struggle for land and influence. Monarchs must balance internal politics, trade, and religion while competing for dominance in the Holy Land and beyond.
- Religion: Religion in the world of Lionhearts is vital to the functioning of every kingdom. Religion acts as a class to support societal ties between kingdoms, and it provides a place for education, research and alternative power structures.
- Expand Your Influence: Players can ascend through military, trade, or religious hierarchies to establish and expand their power. Serve a kingdom to command a retinue and claim land, build a trade empire by mastering a craft to lead a guild, or rise through the clergy to shape faith and politics. Each path offers unique systems of influence, territory control, and strategic decision-making, allowing players to forge their own legacy.
- Gather Resources: Players will cut down forests, mine for ore in dark caverns, and forage for herbs in dense woodlands. Resources have varied rarities and limited supply, making them a point of contention among rival kingdoms.
- Shadow-Tasking System: Players will have the ability to assign tasks to their character’s offline shadow in order to gather resources, craft items, or maintain their fief while away.
- Feudal Sandbox: Players can control fiefs as lords and levy taxes, build cities, and lease property to fellow players. These landlords can hold and manage their demesne as they please; they can customize and upgrade farms, homes, or defenses to better fortify themselves, earn additional income, and showcase their power.
- Skirmishes: Players will battle alongside friends in various ways, such as raiding caravans, stealing enemy resources, or sabotaging their defenses!
- Conquer Jerusalem: Players will conquer the Holy Land with their kingdom on the warpath to Jerusalem.
- Become the One True King: Are you prepared to test your mettle through the brutal game of politics and war? The most ambitious players will rise to the top to become the sole ruler of a massive kingdom of subjects.
Currently, there is no official release date for Lionhearts. For more information on this and other medieval sandbox games and simulators, be sure to check out our coverage of Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord, Chronicles: Medieval, and the upcoming tavern simulator Restaurats.
