Space simulator Star Citizen is still being covered in cash by crowdfunding fans, shattering records. The game is in development even since a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2012.
Technically, production began two years prior, so the game has been in development for a decade. And still, Star Citizen is smashing crowdfunding records, after breaking the $340 million barrier last year.
Star Citizen still smashing crowdfunding records
Ever since the initial crowdfunding campaign, Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen has had a unique status as money magnet. The game received well over $340 million in pledges throughout it’s lifespan.
Star Citizen made $78,991,728 in 2020 alone! Based on a backer-recorded spreadsheat (via Twinfinite) 2020 was another record breaking year for Star Citizen, beating it’s previous record by over $30 million!
The astronomical amount of money Star Citizen gathered, is largely thanks to it’s current business model. By pledging a certain amount of money, fans get access to the alpha.
There’s also in-game purchases, subscriptions, and a singleplayer spin-off called Squadron 42. Additionally, the COVID pandemic destroyed a lot of lives, but certainly not the games industry.
Most expensive game ever
Still, the overwhelming amounts of money thrown at Star Citizen may raise a few eyebrows. After all, it’s quite rare to see a game in development for this long. Even more so given the fact that the budget of Star Citizen, the aforementioned $340 million, is unheard of.
GTA V was widely considered the most expensive game ever made, with a budget of $290 million. That is, until Cyberpunk 2077 came along, costing a whopping $320 million.
There’s an important side note though. Both those numbers take marketing costs into account i.e. at least half of the budget. On development cost alone, no game comes close to Star Citizen.
We’ll leave it up to you to decide if all that money and a decade worth of development time are worth it so far.. Though one thing is certain; the dedicated fanbase of Star Citizen surely isn’t done with breaking crowdfunding records in 2021 either.