Star Citizen has been in development for well over a decade, and its flow of funds still hasn’t dried up. Cloud Imperium Games is closing in on $1bn in total crowdfunding for the title, making it one of the most heavily-funded video game projects in history.
Cloud Imperium’s Star Citizen has been making the GTA VI development cycle look like child’s play for some time, going from rapid Kickstarter success in 2013 to an early access release in 2017, all without any finished product hitting shelves in modern day. After almost 13 years, Star Citizen remains in alpha.
In that time, the space simulation title’s original Kickstarter winnings of $2,134,374 have become a drop in the bucket compared to the staggering $928.2 million the game has under its belt now. Comparing that to some of the most expensive games of all time, it’s true that many AAA budgets are numbering in the hundreds of millions, but for Star Citizen’s alpha to be within reach of a billion is unprecedented.
This cash flow comes from a number of sources, most important among them being the ship ‘pledges,’ which grant players access to the game plus various spacecraft. These ships are sold directly by the developer and don’t enter into any player-managed ecosystem, and can cost over a thousand dollars. Combined with game packages, cosmetics, and some private funding, its evident as to how the budget is ballooning.
An exceptional case
While AAA budgets are soaring to untenable highs, Star Citizen‘s unique business model is something else entirely. Spearheaded by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, the development goal of Star Citizen is rooted in creating an incredibly expansive simulation title without any of the fat trimmed.
Time will tell, however, as to whether this can actually be achieved. With a budget that would make Ubisoft scoff, and a development time that would make Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s look like a blip, Star Citizen remains a tense venture.
