Hold on, benefit of patronage? Benefit to who exactly? It's like you're a YouTuber and you tell your subs to donate and there’s a big project coming and basically never delivering on that promise.
Wake up man, I said it and I'll say it again, if he doesn't release anything of value soon then he's scamming people out of their money, period, what patronage is, is that you support the creator to give you what you originally supported him for, meaning that you support ARC for that game he promised, all that extra shit he's releasing is just supplementary material, and a way to manipulate people to continue donating, making them think he's actually working while he's clearly not
Per Merriam-Webster
Patronage - Noun
1) Advowson(noun - the right in English law of presenting a nominee to a benefice)
2) The support or influence of a patron(THIS IS THE BIG ONE)
3) Kindness done with an air of superiority
4) Business or Activity provided by Patrons
Patron - Noun
1) Synonyms of Patron
-a
: a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian, protector, or supporter
-b
: a wealthy or influential supporter of an artist or writer(THIS IS THE BIG ONE)
-c
: a social or financial sponsor of a social function (THIS IS THE BIG ONE TOO)
2) one that uses wealth or influence to help an individual, an institution, or a cause(THE FINAL BIG ONE)
3) one who buys the goods or uses the services offered especially by an establishment
4) the holder of the right of presentation to an English ecclesiastical benefice
So, by definition, ALL crowdfunding is patronage. YOU DECIDE IF THEIR PROJECT IS WORTH SUPPORTING. That is it. It is not a scam. It takes time to make things. And as a patron in the B, C, and 2 definitions of a patron, you can decide to withdraw your patronage (as in definition 2 of Patronage) if you no longer support the artist. Now, I get it. In today's hustle economy where if you can't produce you are a drain on society(which is of course a HUGE FUCKING LIE spread by the wealthy to accumulate and hoard more wealth), the idea of ACTUAL patronage feels alien. But, and this is the secret, the only contract that he signed is with Subscribestar (now). Meaning, if they aren't penalizing him, he's keeping his end of the bargain, and therefore is NOT scamming anyone.
If you think that's all it is, put your money where your mouth is. Make a game. Go do it. If it's that simple and all he is doing is scamming people, go prove me wrong. I'll wait.