Some games become famous for their ambition, for their gameplay, for offering a different perspective. Some games become famous for a lack of all of the above. Other games, however, become famous for things that have nothing to do with the quality of the game. Star Citizen is one of these, being known more for the swirling of crowdfunding around it than the actual game itself. Well I’m not about to change that, as I’m here to report that it’s just passed another colossal money milestone.
Over the 12 years since Star Citizen launched on Kickstarter the space game has conquered cash like almost nothing else out there. It originally made waves by hitting six million dollars by the time its initial campaign ended. That’s pocket change compared to how much the game has made in the years that have followed, with the game managing to beat that number every few days.
At the time of writing a truly staggering $701,506,844 / £548,908,060 has been raised for Star Citizen’s development thanks to 5,240,956 fans. First spotted over on IGN, developer Cloud Imperium Games makes all this information available publicly on the stretch goals page on the Star Citizen website, though those goals haven’t been too relevant once it hit 65 million dollars back in 2014. It’s not clear whether or not this number includes private investment, as the game has been funded in part by wealthy individuals such as billionaire Clive Calder.
While all this adds up to a healthy chunk of change there continues to be little news in regards to a full release for the game. Though it is playable the final version has no launch date and Star Citizen is still considered to be in an alpha state. A recent blog post by Founder and CEO Chris Roberts states that the game will enter alpha version 4.0 later this year and that “Star Citizen 1.0 twinkles on the horizon”. Whether or not that horizon is fast approaching or is still years out has yet to be determined.
Despite the enduring controversy surrounding Star Citizen’s funding model and the lack of any firm information on when the game will finally launch, it continues to suck up support in huge amounts. For example yesterday, Monday May 27, the game generated roughly $1,500,000 and on Saturday May 25 Star Citizen saw a whopping $2,939,567 arrive in its bank account.
If you’d like to make your own mind up about the game, Star Citizen is currently free to play until Thursday, May 29. Get more info on this free event over on the official website.
You can also dive into something else, our guides to the best simulation games and the best multiplayer games you can play will get you everything you need to find your next favorite game.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.