This is why I really respect developers like Vosmug. Sure, Vos takes 3 years to release a game, but you know what he doesn't do in the meantime? Take tens of thousands of dollars from people for no results because he realizes that it is poison to the concept of shipping a title. Instead he makes his game and then sells it on every platform he can to make the cost back, and it works. And his games are actually mostly feature complete when they launch. No episode 1 or half a game.
It sucks, because Patreon and other services are important for developers and artists to be able to pay their bills while doing their work. But then you'll run into developers who really, really take advantage of it. Another really good dev is Majalis, who, rain or fucking shine, has a content release every month and is meaningfully moving towards the game being complete. Some developers understand that you CAN milk your fans, but it hurts the entire genre, not just your rinky dink scam project. Unethical developers are remembered far more than the ones who didn't fuck people over.