Another $100 million has been added to Star Citizen’s funding

The great Canadian philosopher Michael Mando once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.” But I think no better words have been said by Canadian actor Michael Mando when he said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.” Ok, being serious for a minute, the lessons learned in the gaming industry are beyond infuriating, as no one seems to learn them. We saw it with Cyberpunk 2077 and its release, No Man’s Sky before that, Duke Nukem Forever, Anthem, and now with GTA 6 alongside the ridiculous space MMO, Star Citizen.

Cloud Imperium Games announced and funded Star Citizen back in 2012 with a successful Kickstarter that made $2 million. Star Citizen is directed by Wing Commander creator, Chris Roberts, though more than a decade on and a budget that is ever-expanding, there is still no release date set for Star Citizen. By late 2017, the project had ballooned to a massive $170 million budget through the sale of ships, with one of the original anticipated release dates being way back in 2014. There was an early access release in December of 2017, but we’re almost a decade on from there and still no full release has been announced.

Now, after 13 years, it is reported that Star Citizen is up to $800 million in funding for a game that’s still to be released. Yes, you can buy a little ship for somewhere around $54, or you can spend more money because apparently, Cloud Imperium Games need it to pay for hookers and blow. I am making light of the situation, but from all we hear about it is that it is a mix of Elite Dangerous and No Man’s Sky.

I’d like to add to that by pointing out that it’s a touch like EVE Online: I don’t mind hearing about it and I quite like the mad stories, but I’ve yet to have someone sell me on gameplay. I’m not trying to crap on anyone’s parade, just that a game with $800 million in backing according to the game’s official website and no release date, is one that asks you to fill out insurance forms. If I’m able to spend $1,380 to play a game in early access and I need to fill out in-game insurance forms from time to time, I’m lost at what’s exciting about it.

This is putting aside the fact that Cloud Imperium Games revealed Squadron 42, a story-based single-player game in the universe of Star Citizen. Squadron 42 is rumored to be released in 2026 with a cast including Gillian Anderson, Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Sophie Wu, Henry Cavill, and others. To me, it’s the massive budget, long development time, massive amounts of hype being built up, and what is there to show for it after 13 years? It’s ambitious, but will Star Citizen and its single-player spin-off Squadron 42 live up to the hype?

I don’t want to be the rain pissing on everyone’s shoes, but has any game with this much hype, development time, and this much pomp around its simple existence, ever lived up to that hype? I’d love to be proven wrong by Cloud Imperium Games, but I can’t think of why the budget for Star Citizen has expanded so much, at least $100 million in just the last 12 months.