In 2025, there will be no CitizenCon for Star Citizen in the form that fans are used to, but rather a digital event on October 11. The developers say they want to focus on the work on Squadron 42, which is finally set to release in 2026.
This is what CIG says: In a forum post on April 4, a CIG employee says (via rsi):
No traditional CitizenCon will take place in 2025, but rather a one-day “CitizenCon Direct,” a special showcase that will show players something to look forward to.
The event is being promoted with “reveals, exciting surprises” and hints at “Bar Citizen” events, watch parties for fans.
CIG states that the reason for the change is to maintain development momentum and focus on delivering meaningful updates and improvements.
Players of Star Citizen react cautiously to the announcement
This is how it’s being discussed: Under the forum post, there are some people who cynically react to the announcement because they wish for a pure focus on an imminent release. It is then stated:
“Please cancel all CitizenCons until 1.0 is released.”
“Hopefully, the excuse will be gone now that they can’t work on the game because everyone is working on CitizenCon.”
Some also say: It would be even better to hold such an event in Star Citizen itself and to make the game so stable by then that the servers can handle it. This is ultimately the “ultimate goal” – but it is pointed out to people that Star Citizen currently cannot handle nearly that many players.
However, there are also people who say: The shift to a digital event will change nothing. The developers will still neglect working on the game and will work on the DigitalCon instead.
Decision for a “clean show”
This is why it’s important: The “CitizenCon” is the event for Star Citizen that raises the most money for crowdfunding. Here, new ships are showcased, which supporters then buy for sometimes very high amounts:
- It is an important factor for development to keep the huge project financially afloat.
- At the same time, it draws resources away from development, causing further delays.
With such “live” events, something often goes wrong. The PC crashed during the presentation in 2024. This casts a poor light on such a project, especially for a technology-focused company.
If such an event is held digitally, the presentation can definitely be made clean and the execution can be more organized.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the developers will spend less time on the “digital event” if it is long prepared than with a live event. The statement “We are focusing on the release” is in any case the justification that Star Citizen knows the fans and supporters want to hear.
Surely the developers have thought the decision for a digital event through well. It is the decision for a “structured, organized process” in which Star Citizen is presented in the best light. Whether this really draws fewer resources away from development is unclear. Star Citizen shows gameplay on a big stage, but in the middle, the demo crashes and the audience applauds
