Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies' "spiritual sequel" smashed its $200k Kickstarter target in under an hour, and the sci-fi fantasy MMORPG is now on track to double its goal

Stars Reach – the upcoming sci-fi fantasy MMORPG from Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies veteran Raph Koster – is already fully funded on Kickstarter after reaching in its goal in under an hour.

Developed by Playable Worlds, Stars Reach is shaping up to offer players what's essentially a "parallel world" with thousands of planets to explore, which they can have a real, permanent impact on thanks to the fact that "we simulate everything," Koster previously told us in an interview. From being able to alter a planet's ecosystem after driving creatures to extinction to irrigating deserts or rerouting rivers, the level of freedom sounds enormous – and that's not mentioning the aliens you can fight, settlements you can build, leadership roles you can develop, and much more. With all that on top of the fact that it's meant to be a "spiritual sequel to Ultima Online and to Star Wars Galaxies," there's a lot to be excited about.

Until recently, Stars Reach had been funded by investors, but last month, it was announced that a Kickstarter campaign would be launched too, because, as Koster explained at the time, "the climate for games investment is terrible." Thankfully, the campaign has very quickly managed to accumulate all the extra funding Playable Worlds needed and more, as the devs confirm it smashed its $200,000 goal in under an hour.

"We're deeply humbled and grateful for this outpouring of support," Playable Worlds says in a statement. "This is your victory as much as ours, and we can't wait to take this journey together."

Even after hitting the main goal, support doesn't seem to be slowing down. With 28 days left to go on the campaign and over $364,000 raised at the time of writing, the MMO seems to be well on track to raise double its original target. In the statement, the devs add that "the more we raise the faster we can bring this game to market. And the better the game will be." Its first stretch goal – which will see the team add the "Hansian species" to the game – was hit at $350k, but there's still "crafting appearance customization" listed, although the page doesn't confirm what target fans have to hit to unlock that one.

We'll just have to watch this space to see how much more Stars Reach can raise – the fact that the MMO is already "very far along in development" after being in the works for the last five years is bound to be encouraging for many, too.

Former Ultima Online lead wants his new MMO to satisfy the "huge, huge appetite" for "a more immersive parallel world" like the ones in Sword Art Online and Animal Crossing.