The “Free-Fly” week of the space MMO Star Citizen was a complete success. During this week, the developer studio Cloud Imperium earned 7 million dollars.
Star Citizen has now been able to generate over 210 million dollars through the sale of ships and access to the game. This is higher than the budget of the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic (according to Gamespot).
Star Citizen continues to generate a lot of money
What happened? During the “Free-Fly” week of Star Citizen, a sale took place where the developer studio offered spacecraft at a discount. And players bought them as if they were hot buns. In the end, 7 million dollars were made.
Why are players spending so much money? As an outsider, it may be hard to understand why Star Citizen, with over 200 million dollars in crowdfunding revenue, can still generate so much money. The reasons are multifaceted.
- During the “Free-Fly” week, players could try out the spacecraft and got excited about flying more ships
- Players could also try out ships they hadn’t purchased yet and wanted to buy them afterwards
- Hardcore fans love to show off how they can finally fly through space in their beloved ship
- You get a highly sought-after ship at a “bargain” price
- For fans, the ships are more than just virtual items, they can be compared to a collection of real cars
- Star Citizen has its own community, which is more comparable to an exclusive “golf club”
- Within the club, reputation is gained by owning as many spacecraft as possible
More than just a game
That’s why Star Citizen is more than just a game: What Chris Roberts has created with Star Citizen goes beyond a regular online game. For many fans, it’s like a second life. It’s no longer really about being able to play a finished MMO one day.
On a meta level, it’s about being a member of the “Star Citizen Club” and defining oneself through the spacecraft one owns. It’s about being involved in the development of such a massive project and experiencing its gradual development.
The development of Star Citizen has essentially become a type of online game itself, into which fans are willing to invest a lot of money. So it shouldn’t be surprising why so much money can be raised during a “Free Fly” week with ship sales.
