Yooka-Laylee becomes most-Kickstarted UK game ever

Yooka-Laylee, a crowdfunded first title from startup studio Playtonic Games, has smashed records to become the the most funded UK game Kickstarter in history.

Launched earlier this month, the project is a spiritual successor to the classic platformer Banjo-Kazooie - hence the name, a play on another compact stringed instrument - and features much of the creative talent responsible for the original franchise. Hitting its modest £175,000 funding goal on Kickstarter in just 40 minutes, the project's total now stands just short of £1.6 million and with 32 days still to go on the clock. For the Derby-based studio, it's a time for celebration - and the official breaking of records.

'The response to Yooka-Laylee has been incredible and from all of us here at Playtonic, we really want to say a huge, warm ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped us exceed our goal,' gushed Gavin Price, creative lead, of the project' success. 'The enthusiasm and support from the community has been truly humbling. We’re now in a fantastic position to make Yooka-Laylee at the level and scope that the fans have demanded.'

The title has become the biggest crowd-funding success for the UK's game industry to date, beating out the £1.58 million raised by established studio Frontier Developments to bring Elite: Dangerous to market. Playtonic has responded by adding additional stretch goals, promising that if £2 million is raised by the end of the campaign all backers will receive free downloadable content (DLC) to extend the game post-launch.

More information is available on the Kickstarter campaign page.