Star Citizen has managed to raise $500,134,425 since crowdfunding efforts began nearly a decade ago on December 2012, according to the latest funding stats shared on the Roberts Space Industries website. The milestone is sure to anger critics of the controversial space trading and combat simulation game, many of whom have called it a “scam” for reasons that include its extremely lengthy development. It remains unclear when Star Citizen might see a commercial release.
From a Eurogamer report:
Star Citizen’s exceedingly lengthy development is well-documented, with the game still in alpha over a decade after production began. And while it’s attracted some private funding in that time, the overwhelming bulk has come via crowdfunding, beginning with a successful $2m USD Kickstarter in 2012 and ballooning from there.
As of today, Star Citizen has amassed $500,075,150 USD in crowdfunding from a total of 4,096,384 backers, according to the official Roberts Space Industries website. Its previous major milestone of $400m USD raised was reached last November, meaning it’s taken a further ten months to accrue an additional $100m.
Star Citizen is supposed to feature a story-based, single-player mode called Squadron 42, but that portion of the game has also suffered from numerous delays, to the point that some have labeled it vaporware. Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, and other recognizable actors have been linked to the project.