Star Citizen Nears $900M in Funding—Still Stuck in Alpha with No Release Date

by

As of the latest data from Cloud Imperium Games, Star Citizen has now been funded with a total of over $885 million.

This game was funded by one of the biggest crowdfunding campaigns in history. However, even after ten years of work, it’s still in early development and doesn’t have a set release date.

Chris Roberts, the founder of the studio, has often discussed the project’s future, but he hasn’t given any indication of when it might actually launch. This lack of a timeframe has upset many early supporters, particularly since the project continues to receive significant funding.

Star Citizen began in 2012 with a standard crowdfunding campaign, but it now relies on ongoing funding. Currently, the game is primarily financed through players buying access to the early alpha version, monthly subscriptions, official merchandise, and virtual ships that can be quite expensive. The developers, CIG, still refer to these purchases as “pledges” to highlight that the money directly supports the game’s development.

The developers of CIG have been consistently updating the game’s alpha version. A significant update, version 4.0, launched in late 2024 and introduced server meshing – a technology that allows players to travel seamlessly through the game’s vast environments.

Roberts had stated that overcoming this challenge was the final step before shifting focus to a publicly released, finished version of the game. He explained in March 2024 that Star Citizen 1.0 would launch when the game was reliable, refined, and easy for newcomers to pick up.

Over a year later, the game is still labeled as an alpha version in early access. Chris Roberts, the creator, has defended his vision, stating in 2020 that the gameplay he described was achievable and wouldn’t take decades to implement. However, given the continued development status, that claim doesn’t look so good in hindsight.

Look, this game’s development hasn’t been smooth sailing, that’s for sure. A lot of people think the developers, CIG, got a little carried away and tried to do way too much. There’s also been a ton of questions about how they’re spending the money they’ve raised. Honestly, it’s gotten pretty messy online with public arguments, and I’ve even seen reports of journalists and content creators getting harassed by some of the more passionate fans when they shared their opinions. It’s a tough situation.

Derek Smart, a game developer who initially supported the project, has been a prominent critic of Star Citizen. He stated in 2015 that the game had become too ambitious to ever complete, leading to a refund and the closure of his account. Later, through his lawyers, he requested detailed financial information and a solid plan for release. Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) dismissed his requests and maintained their confidence in the project. Smart has consistently voiced his criticism of Star Citizen since then.

CIG has consistently explored new ways to generate revenue. For example, in 2017, they started selling items for a feature that hadn’t been developed yet, which sparked debate about whether this gave players who spent money an unfair advantage. In 2018, they briefly considered charging for access to the CitizenCon event livestream, but quickly reversed that decision due to negative feedback. They also removed a limit on in-game currency, leading to concerns about how aggressively they would pursue monetization.

Even with all the controversies, legal issues, and discussions surrounding it, Star Citizen still doesn’t have a set release date. After over a decade of work and almost $900 million in funding from its supporters, players are still waiting.

Read More

2025-11-15 10:45