Star Citizen has achieved a video game industry landmark, but in continuing controversial circumstances.
Announced in 2012, veteran game developer Chris Roberts pitched the project to gamers as a fully independent project, to fully realize his vision without a publisher to hold him back.
The game raised $ 2 million in its initial Kickstarter. But in the succeeding years, the game and its studio Cloud Imperium Games faced increasing scrutiny for failing to deliver in a timely manner.
That skepticism peaked in 2024, after a report came out claiming it had a toxic workplace and poor budget management.
Today, Roberts Space Industries’ website shows that the game has now raised $ 1,004,771,225, from 6,546,295 backers. It’s the first crowdfunded video game to reach that amount, placing it near the higher echelons of blockchain and crypto projects.
We should note that the project’s lack of transparency raises red flags where the money is being used. So it would be fair to question if this number is even real.
Another red flag is that the game raised $ 500,000 relatively recently, in 2022. So there’s also questions if this crowdfunding is on the level from the backers’ end.