Star Citizen’s starting to come into focus, a decade into development

It’s 2022, and I just got into Star Citizen. Uninitiated spacefarers might be surprised by how many places there are to explore.

My friend bought starter packs and I was hooked. Even though I’m a skeptic and haven’t been interested in Star Citizen, I was surprised that there were actually galaxies I could visit. Star Citizen was fascinating and breathtaking. It is also frustrating. My favorite thing was to stop, watch ads for fictional mercenary corporations or just relax in the bright neon lights of futuristic plazas. The game is much more sophisticated than most people realize, even though it is still quite primitive in some aspects.

Many people aren’t aware of how far Star Citizen has come — which makes sense, as it has so far still to go. Star Citizen is not a single game, but rather a series that includes a persistent universe (PU), and an unreleased campaign game for one-player. Squadron 42 that still doesn’t have a release date (and hasn’t since 2016).

Cloud Imperium games

The game has been infamous for its slow and delayed development cycle; for many people, the title has become just a meme, and its harshest critics online have even claimed the game is a “scam”. Over the years, there has been a widening gap between people who follow Star Citizen and others who don’t. If you’ve given up — or never boarded the hype train — then you might only know about Star Citizen from snarky headlines like “CIG reels back Star Citizen’s roadmap because players ‘interpret anything on the release view as a promise’” or “Star Citizen dev defends missing roadmap feature by 4 years.” It’s easy to doubt whether the game is even playable — after all, even though it’s been nearly a decade, the developers are still discussing features as basic as, er, loot.

The game has plenty of resources. The game’s fundraising campaign continually breaks records, even as it adds on deep-pocketed investors. Fans and investors bought into Star Citizen’s big promise: it’s a “forever game” consisting of a massive sci-fi universe filled with players, each on their own individual journeys. Roberts Space Industries and Cloud Imperium Games have combined to raise hundreds of millions of money for Star Citizen’s development., The money went towards in-game cinematics, game development and voice work.

Star Citizen has been funded by CIG and RSI since 2012. Star Citizen is a vaporware franchise. Star Citizen promises to be a forever game for its fans — a massive sci-fi universe filled with players, each on their own individual journeys. There’s a huge variety of ships, from humble starter vessels to massive military transporters. One player might take up residence in the med bay, like Star Trek’s Bones, while another might stick in the pilot’s cockpit.

The gap between Star Citizen followers and disinterested players has grown over the years. If you’ve given up — or never boarded the hype train — then you might spot snarky headlines like “CIG reels back Star Citizen’s roadmap because players ‘interpret anything on the release view as a promise’” or “Star Citizen dev defends missing roadmap feature by 4 years.” It’s easy to doubt whether the game is even playable — after all, after nearly a decade, the developers are still discussing features as basic as, er, loot.

My friend had purchased starter packs and we decided to get in on the fun. Although I’ve been skeptical about the game and have never really taken an interest in it, I was surprised that there were actually galaxies I could explore. My friends and I started out at Area 18, which is a little like Star Wars’ Nar Shaddaa, all neon and vice. From there, we boarded a friend’s ship and headed out to the icy slopes of New Babbage to pick up a friend. While it’s undeniable that Star Citizen has spun out of control with scope creep, some of the big building blocks of that vision are starting to come into focus. It’s possible to be a bounty hunter or make a shipment, jump into a space battle or explore a planet.

Roberts Space Industries

Star Citizen is constantly changing, but Star Citizen remains the same. Our initial journey through the PU was interrupted when one of our friends, exploring the mess hall, got lodged into a wall and couldn’t escape. He was trapped in a wall and couldn’t escape, so we had to rally together to find a solution. The game’s fanbase are also still continually quarreling about the pace of development; the front page of the game’s Reddit is currently crowded with threads like “We should be worried when they STOP working on this game all together” and “The number of tantrums thrown in this sub over the last few weeks has made me reconsider if this is a community I want to join.”

It’s clear that Star Citizen’s journey is far from over; players are continuing to invest in the project, despite the long timeline. The game is progressing and it’s beginning to seem less ridiculous than the initial promises. While many people have forgotten about the game’s ambitious promises and enormous fundraising launch, the developer is continuing to toil away at this Gordian Knot of a project. They don’t have to try and sell their vision anymore — you can actually play bits of it, and a fanbase is continuing to invest in the galaxy, even though many of them have given up hope for any kind of “final” release.