Kickstarter is where a lot of big-name games could start their journeys. And it is where "Star Citizen" began its story--a story that has gone on for almost a decade.
And with how long it's been in "active development," the game has now reached a milestone not many Kickstarter projects have achieved before: a massive $400 million in total money raised, reports IGN.
The figure itself comes from "Star Citizen" developer Cloud Imperium Games, who posted about the milestone on its website. The eye-watering amount was due to over 3.3 million backers, who have crowdfunded the former Kickstarter project.
With how much money the game has raised, its development cost now rivals several of the most expensive games ever--in fact, it might even be the costliest game to make in history.
"Star Wars: The Old Republic," according to GameRant, is the closest to the Kickstarter-funded space sim with its roughly $200 million development budget.
Even Rockstar Games' "Red Dead Redemption 2," despite all the hype and its overall scope, doesn't even crack the $200 million mark with a budget of over $170 million.
Kickstarter Record-Breaker
Kickstarter keeps a record of the biggest crowdfunding projects on its platform. With its major milestone, Cloud Imperium's space sim now far outclasses the erstwhile more topnotch, a smartwatch called Pebble Time.
Data from Statista reveals that Pebble Time has raised $20.5 million in total as of July 2021, bringing it to a distant second place.
As for the most-funded video games on Kickstarter, "Star Citizen" again exceeds some highly popular campaigns.
These include "Shenmue 3" ($6.3 million), "Pillars of Eternity" ($3.9 million), and even its closest-competing space sim "Elite Dangerous" ($2.1 million).
Insane Fan Support
However, the crowdfunding prowess of "Star Citizen" doesn't end at the total money it has raised.
PC Gamer crossed the $400 million mark less than 18 months after surpassing $300 million, which is quite unprecedented considering the game has been in the works since 2012.
But fans don't seem to worry about it one bit. Currently, the game is hosting a Free Fly Period until Dec. 1, where backers have more opportunities to pledge money for the project.
Screencap taken from Star Citizen trailer - YouTube
These Free Fly Periods are among the biggest money-makers for Cloud Imperium Games, and the money they typically raise during this time could easily reach $200,000 to as much as $700,000 a day.
As of this writing, the game's current Free Fly Period has allegedly raised $2 million in total, as per the original PC Gamer report.
Will It Ever Release?
Considering how the game has missed multiple launch windows (originally slated to release in 2014), this question entirely relies on Cloud Imperium and its founder, Chris Roberts.
There is still no definite window for when "Star Citizen" will be fully launched. For now, the game's downloadable and playable state remains in Alpha.
Related: Star Citizen Features All-Star Cast: Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
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