Having one of the most successful crowd-funding campaigns in history as well as a thriving and frequently active community, Star Citizen remains one of the most anticipated upcoming video game releases regardless of its incredibly lengthy development period. Announced back in 2012, the game still has yet to see a firm release date; however, it appears player support for the game hasn’t quite dwindled just yet.
Following a spike in new contributions, Star Citizen has just managed to reach a major new milestone, with the game amassing over $250 million in crowd-funding returns. $9 million appeared to be channeled into the game within the last month alone, which is the biggest month the game has had in its seven years of crowdfunding.
The spike in sales can no doubt be attributed to the recent Citizencon event that took place in Manchester, England last month. Here, the game's biggest fans came together to support the title, while also learning some brand-new information about the game, including the first look at a new planet and the announcement of a multiplayer mode coming to Star Citizen’s FPS segment, Star Marine. Whether looking at the convention or this new influx of backers, it’s clear Star Citizen is far from falling into obscurity despite how long it’s taking to develop.
Of course, it’s also a positive sign that Star Citizen is getting new backers seen as the game has been experiencing some troubling issues with budgeting throughout this year. It was reported back in May that the game had lost most of the extensive funding it had received from its supporters despite the title still being nowhere near finished. A new stream of funds could be exactly what Star Citizen needs to get back its momentum, and with so many fans incredibly excited to get their hands on the game, that’s very positive news indeed.
Another game to do immensely well on the crowdfunding circuit was the recently released Shenmue 3. Much like Star Citizen, it picked up a dedicated community of passionate backers when it was funded in 2015, with many fans excited to finally be able to see where the iconic video game franchise was going next. The sequel finally released just last month, garnering mixed reviews from long-time fans and new players alike. Here’s to hoping Star Citizen manages to fare better when it hopefully releases in the near future.
Star Citizen is in development now for PC.