Development on Visionary Realms' massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, will continue with new volunteer team, EverQuest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes designer Brad McQuaid wrote on the on the game's blog.
"First, team members will begin as volunteers. This is because 1. we don't have the funding right now to pay, 2. we're a little weary and concerned about setting a bunch of people up as remote, paid contractors like we did when this project started," McQuaid wrote, "and 3. because since these people are not necessary local to VRI's home base in San Diego, we need to take the time to get to know each of these volunteers, spending time with them on teamspeak or Skype, having them deliver some assets for evaluation, etc."
Once the campaign to approach angel investors and publishers begins again and funding is secured to have an office and paid employees, McQuaid will look at the volunteer force to rebuild the team. Volunteers will be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine if the individual wants or should become a contractor or an onsite employee.
Visionary Realms revealed in April that it will "slow down" the title's development until it can gather financially stability. McQuaid and his team launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game, which didn't hit its $800,000 goal, but continued raising money beyond the campaign's end to finish it. Development on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen will continue in order to show more of it to the community and fans in the near future, as well as to potential investors within the next couple of months.