The Sci-Fi MMO Star Citizen has now raised one billion US dollars since its crowdfunding launch 14 years ago, but the title is as controversial as ever.
What a number! One billion US dollars or 859 million euros, this is how much the developers have raised according to the official website robertsspaceindustries.com. A milestone for the Sci-Fi MMO that has been in development for almost 14 years.
Even at its Kickstarter launch in 2012, the MMO was able to raise over 2 million US dollars and has since been financed through the sale of spaceships that players can fly in the MMO.
About 14 years after the great success on the crowdfunding platform, the developers have not only one unfinished title but two.
Version 1.0 is not in sight
What’s the status of Star Citizen? This question is highly controversial: While haters on the internet call it the biggest scam in video game history, we keep reading in our comments from fans about how much the title has evolved in recent updates.
Star Citizen is practically unfinished, and this is likely also because over the years, the fans have made so much money that they can afford a comfortable development. This is evidenced by the fact that even during the development of Star Citizen, the single-player spin-off Squadron 42 has been launched, which has since been repeatedly postponed.
Even now, a look at the roadmap at robertsspaceindustries.com shows no release date for Star Citizen yet. Squadron 42, on the other hand, is said to be at least on the home stretch, as Variety.com reports.
Star Citizen is a playable title that continues to receive updates. The ambitious goals set at launch have not yet all been fully achieved. For fans, the title is now a good early access game that might not need a release so urgently, while outsiders can only shake their heads at a budget of one billion US dollars.
How do gamers react to the number? With a budget in the billions, gamers are wondering what all they could do with that and why the title is still incomplete despite almost unlimited funding and more than 13 years of development. They write on Reddit:
- Cynical_onlooker: “Dude, that’s as much as the budget of 5 major AAA titles, right?”
- SwePolygyny: “I can’t believe this game makes millions a day through crowdfunding. That’s an astronomical sum for a game.”
- Rooonaldooo99: “According to their own crowdfunding statistics, they earn between 8 and 32 million a month. Who is still giving this project so much money in 2026??”
- TryHardFapHarder says on Reddit: “I checked out the last free flight event to see what the game is about, but I spent more time troubleshooting than learning the game. The performance is terrible, especially in cities. Players told me I would be experiencing the best version since they finally have server meshing – after an enormous amount of money and 14 years of development […]”
Whether the business model of Star Citizen is a scam is something each player must decide for themselves. However, those who buy the title in the hope that 2026 will finally see the Sci-Fi MMO make the jump to the release version may be disappointed. Star Citizen is, however, not the only MMO where fans invest money in a dream: Fans continue to invest millions in their dream MMO, they might as well just burn the cash.
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