Designer J.D. Maxwell has not responded to anyone since July 2025. His tabletop RPG Grimwild won a Gold ENNIE Award and raised $89,055 from two BackerKit rounds. Yet 1,187 backers remain without physical rewards six months later, with BackerKit formally designating the project as abandoned in January 2026.
Backers paid for hardcover books, dice sets, and adventure modules. They received PDFs but nothing physical.
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Creator Goes Silent After Australia Move
The first BackerKit campaign closed in July 2024 with 590 backers pledging $41,830. A second expanded print run ended May 16, 2025, bringing in $47,225 from 597 supporters for August delivery.
Maxwell delivered the digital PDF in January 2025 on schedule and released a free version on DriveThruRPG, earning strong reviews. Players began running games with the completed rules. He paid manufacturing costs and the printer signed off on test prints.
Then he stopped responding to all communications.
He relocated from Portland, Oregon to Australia in early 2025 with his family and started a new job. Discord moderators thought in early July he was taking time off to handle production delays from tariff complications.
His last known contact came July 8, 2025, in an email exchange with another company. By late July, collaborators Per Janke and Luke Saunders told the community they could not reach him through any channel.
Maxwell set up Oddity Press as a sole proprietorship with every account in his name alone. This means the printer needs his approval to begin production and BackerKit requires his login to post updates. The freelance artists and designers who created content for the game have no legal standing to move things forward.
Campaign Timeline
- July 11, 2024: First campaign closes with 590 backers
- January 2025: PDF delivered to all supporters
- May 16, 2025: Second campaign ends, August delivery promised
- July 8, 2025: Maxwell’s last known contact
- August 2, 2025: Grimwild wins ENNIE Gold Award for Best Free Product
- August 24, 2025: Report filed with BackerKit Trust and Safety
- September 2025: Wikipedia updated confirming no contact with creator
- January 6, 2026: BackerKit formally designates project as abandoned
Backer Reactions Range From Anger to Sympathy
Community responses on the BackerKit campaign page show mounting frustration. One backer wrote: “I frikkin knew this was dodgey… Give me back my money now. You thief.”
Another commented: “This was clearly a scam. There has been no communication for month now.”
Others remain cautiously sympathetic. Backer Ben posted: “let’s also not jump to nefarious conclusions and instead hope that Max is alright… People just don’t up and disappear on a whim.”
Artist Per Janke wrote to the community following the award win: “We’re so grateful to have so many people keeping up the spirit of Grimwild. Without you this wouldn’t have happened.”
BackerKit had initially classified the project as “stalled” through late 2025, given Maxwell’s prior track record and sudden unexplained absence, before formally designating it as abandoned in January 2026.
Physical Production Blocked Despite Finished Product
Most crowdfunding campaigns that fail collapse before delivering anything. Grimwild did the opposite. The game exists and functions well, with books ready as finished print files. The manufacturer has been paid and the printer awaits approval to begin production.
One missing signature blocks everything.
BackerKit Designates Project Abandoned
In January 2026, BackerKit Trust and Safety formally designated the project as abandoned. The platform stated it had exhausted all communication channels after months of review and repeated outreach attempts.
Maxwell lost good standing on BackerKit and cannot use the platform’s services unless he returns and resumes fulfillment. The designation follows BackerKit’s crowdfunding rules requiring creators to either deliver rewards or demonstrate substantial progress.
The 1,187 people still waiting for their pledges face limited recourse. BackerKit does not handle refunds, as that responsibility sits with the project creator. With Maxwell unreachable, backers have no avenue for either fulfilment or refunds.
Geek Native reported in August that the Grimwild community was asking anyone with information about Maxwell to contact Discord moderators privately. No updates emerged until BackerKit’s formal abandonment designation six months after Maxwell’s disappearance. Other crowdfunding campaigns in the tabletop gaming industry have faced similar issues this year, as NewZire has documented.
Updated: 09 / 01 / 2026.
Ha, that’s me with that Wikipedia update in September.
This week, BackerKit finally issued an update, saying they too have been unable to contact J.D. Maxwell, and have officially deemed the Grimwild project abandoned (though no refunds can be issued), with the other crowdfunding projects by the same developer (including the game Venture) still pending but almost certainly consigned to a similar fate.
A strange, confusing, and frustrating situation all around, but that’s probably where it’ll end for the time being.
Article’s current now. You’re right about Venture – 485 more affected there.