Facepalm: In what looks like a case of pushing your luck too far, the makers of Star Citizen, a recreation that has raised over $800 million throughout 13 years with none signal of a completed model, are beneath hearth from gamers for introducing pay-to-win ship upgrades that could not be earned in-game.
By means of its mixture of crowdfunding, subscriptions, the sale of ships, and different strategies, Star Citizen has raised greater than $801 million because it was introduced in 2012. Quite than slowing down, the quantity being raised has sped up in latest instances, passing $100 million yearly since 2022. And all with none strong launch date for model 1.0 of the sport – although developer Cloud Imperium Video games (CIG) claims the single-player component will launch in 2026.
However whereas followers appear unfazed by a seemingly everlasting improvement cycle, there was loads of outrage over the latest introduction of flight blades.
The blades provide a bonus to gamers by making ships sooner or bettering their maneuverability. Whereas ship upgrades aren’t new, what angered folks was that as an alternative of the blades being purchasable utilizing actual cash and in-game aUEC foreign money, as is often the case, they have been cash-only upon launch, priced between $9.60 and $42.
Even for gamers who’re accepting of the way in which Star Citizen and CIG function, the blades have been a step too far. The discussion board thread saying the upgrades was swamped with indignant feedback in regards to the perceived pay-to-win upgrades.
CIG’s response was to launch a press release, which lacked an apology, confirming that the blades’ launch was being delayed till June, when they are going to be that can be purchased utilizing aUEC in addition to within the retailer. It added that future gameplay equipment introductions could be obtainable in-game on day one.
“We’re pushing 11 patches this 12 months as an alternative of 4. We’re crushing extra bugs than ever, constructing extra thrilling content material, transferring sooner than ever to make the Persistent Universe a greater expertise for everybody, and in transferring that quick, we missed a step,” wrote Tyler “Zyloh-CIG” Witkin.
“To be clear, the brand new flight blades will probably be obtainable for aUEC in our subsequent patch this June. We adopted our traditional strategy by providing early entry on the pledge retailer to assist assist improvement,” Witkin added. “However after some reflection, we have determined that for smaller parts like flight blades or bomb racks, they need to be out there in-game on the similar time they seem on the shop.”
The response seems to have completed little to placate the Star Citizen group. “This can be a bandaid to calm folks down, however the root subject right here is that you simply proceed to promote an increasing number of objects within the recreation which have a wider affect on what a participant would do day after day,” argues the top-voted remark within the thread.
At its present price, Star Citizen will move $1 billion in funding in only a couple extra years, probably (most likely?) earlier than model 1.0 releases.
CIG CEO Chris Roberts stated final 12 months that he was assured the single-player component of Star Citizen, Squadron 42, would arrive in 2026. Squadron 42 was scheduled to launch in the summertime of 2020, and in 2022, Roberts stated the sport was one or two years away, so do not be shocked if we expertise extra delays, which is a disgrace because the star-studded recreation appears fairly spectacular.
