If you backed or were watching that Project GT Kickstarter campaign that went viral recently, here's something you need to know: it was a scam, and the people who ran it had nothing to do with the actual game.
Chinese developer Studio Siphon stepped forward on June 13 with a public statement confirming that a Kickstarter campaign for its 3D anime-styled action racing game Project GT was set up by an unauthorized third party. The studio had no involvement with the campaign whatsoever.
How a leaked prototype turned into a viral crowdfunding scam
The Kickstarter launched on May 12 and picked up serious momentum fast. By June, it had already cleared its initial funding goal and spread across Japanese gaming media, social platforms, and enthusiast communities. The hook was hard to ignore: race cars reimagined as cute anime girls, drawing instant comparisons to Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the massively popular horse girl racing game from Cygames. The campaign page also claimed the team had former staff from miHoYo, Tencent, and NetEase, which gave it a veneer of credibility.
Here's the thing, though. Several red flags were visible from the start. The trailer included AI-generated narration with noticeable errors, and the overall presentation felt inconsistent with a team of that supposed pedigree. Those suspicions turned out to be justified.
Studio Siphon confirmed that all footage shown in the campaign was early-stage prototype material, leaked from an internal business plan. The people behind the Kickstarter obtained that footage without permission and built an entire crowdfunding campaign around it.
Studio Siphon's response and what happens to the campaign
The studio has already filed a formal complaint with Kickstarter and is pushing to have the fraudulent campaign page taken down. As of the studio's June 13 statement, the page remained accessible, though that situation may have changed since. Media outlets that covered the campaign as legitimate news were also asked to retract their articles to reduce further confusion.
What most players miss in situations like this is how much damage a convincing fake campaign can do to a real project. The viral spread of the fraudulent Kickstarter means a lot of people now have a distorted first impression of Project GT before the actual developers have had a chance to introduce it properly.
The real Project GT is still coming
The silver lining here is that Studio Siphon used the statement to confirm that Project GT is a real game and development is actively progressing. The studio described the current state as going "smoothly" and said the team is focused on refining quality before any official reveal. No release window or platform details have been shared yet.
All future updates will be posted exclusively through Studio Siphon's official Bilibili page. The studio has not announced any plans for a legitimate crowdfunding campaign at this stage.
The anime car girl racing concept clearly resonates with players, given how quickly the fake campaign spread. Fans of Umamusume: Pretty Derby who are curious about the gacha and progression side of games in this genre can check out the banner guide while waiting for more Project GT news to surface officially. When Studio Siphon is ready to show the real thing, the bar set by that viral prototype footage will be the first thing fans measure it against.
