Project GT Kickstarter Situation Explained

The world of ACG games was set abuzz when the Project GT Kickstarter page was announced. Further discoveries show that there’s more than meets the eye.

Gamers were intrigued to see a new video game combining racing, combat, and anthropomorphized race cars as cute girls. It seems the Umamusume boom is still on fire, which explains why people got hooked on the franchise.

Further down the line, some skepticism arises, with gamers noticing nonsensical details on its Kickstarter page. Some outright called Project GT a scam like any other failed Kickstarter project that came before.

So, is Project GT really a scam to bait people into throwing their money?

What is Project GT?

According to the Kickstarter page, Project GT is an action RPG racing game where you control characters that are reimaginings of popular sports and race cars. Revealed concept art shows that some characters are inspired by cars from manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lotus, Toyota, Honda, and Porsche.

The characters are equipped with roller blades, aerodynamic devices, and weapons to traverse the race track filled with technical turns and other hazards. While the objective is to finish first, players can attack their opponents to gain both position and tactical advantage. Characters can be upgraded and enhanced, as well as grouped into various teams.

Project GT also has a tiny bit of lore. It is said that the setting is a post-apocalyptic world where a phenomenon called “Electronic Rain” disrupted the world’s technology. To adapt, biology-based artificial intelligence evolved into Girl Engines, humanoid entities that are both mobile and sturdy.

The humans then launched a reclamation effort called the Grand Tour to rebuild civilization. These reclamation missions then evolved into a competition between Girl Engines called Grand Tour Masters.

Project GT would target devices such as smartphones, consoles, and PCs. According to the Kickstarter page, the game is projected to release in late 2027, with early access available in the second quarter.

While Project GT garnered interest from gamers, some can’t help but notice that something is amiss.

First is the Kickstarter page itself. While the game was developed in China, it is weird that the developers decided to fund it through Kickstarter. The page itself was created by someone named Rong Qu, based in Sheridan, Wyoming, USA.

The developers’ identity is also a mystery. The Kickstarter page said that the staff were former developers from prominent studios like HoYoverse, Tencent, NetEase, Sunborn Network, and Lilith Games. But they didn’t provide a studio name or the identity of the developers. Photos of the alleged developers showing them posing in front of a display of a wholly different game, Lumin: Echo of Spacetime.

The low funding target raises suspicion as well. So far, 418 backers have pooled about USD 26,000, with the target funding of USD 2,000. This meager target doesn’t match with their game presentation, which features fully modeled 3D characters and environments, decorated with official brand logos.

Moving on to the game trailer itself, it’s apparent that they used an AI voiceover, with a robotic voice and unnatural script. This is a big red flag for players looking for any sense of security in project GT.

The truth behind Project GT

Later findings revealed that the Kickstarter page for Project GT is indeed fake. But the game itself? It’s actually real.

Siphon Studio, a game development studio based in China, posted on their Bilibili account on June 13 that some entity impersonated them on Kickstarter and leaked their project materials.

“Upon verification, the leaked materials originated from an early-stage business plan (BP) shared within the industry, which was disclosed by a partner,” said their representative.

Siphon Studio will pursue legal action as well as coordinate with Kickstarter and refund all backers’ funds. All further updates on Project GT will only be posted through Siphon Studio’s Bilibili account.

Another key takeaway that the project is real is that some of the key staff can be identified through concept art and the developer’s photos. Uniquely, all the identifiable staff came from Sunborn Network.

The first one is LIN+. He is the character designer of Girls’ Frontline, made by Sunborn’s MICA Team. LIN+ worked with Lowlight (now known as Hai Mao, founder of Hypergryph) to establish the world design and character visual of GFL.

Someone also noticed one of the developers from the photo, Kamei. Kamei is the producer of Project Neural Cloud, a Girls’ Frontline spinoff game set in the middle of its story.

So yeah, the game is real, and it’s unfortunate that the studio has fallen victim to a data leak. While the development for Project GT is progressing well (and Siphon Studio has taken some of the inputs from the Kickstarter page well), it’s safe to say that we won’t see any updates soon.