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Star Citizen Surpasses The $20 Million Mark
Star Citizen, the crowd-funded space simulation from Cloud Imperium, has raised of $20 million, achieving a new stretch goal and bringing the finished product one step closer to fruition.
From the mind of developer Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander fame), Star Citizen is a complex title that involves space exploration, commerce, and combat.
As previously announced, this milestone means that first-person combat will be implemented on some planets, meaning that combat won't just be limited to the cockpit. The next stretch goal, $21 million, will add an involved salvage mechanic.
Star Citizen's final release is currently estimated for the end of 2014/early 2015, with different modules being released along the way, incrementally adding features.
Our Take
Backers must be happy to see all of this funding continue to pour in, and all of the new features being added via stretch goals are interesting. However, as the scope of the game continues to increase, I wonder how the team will be able to focus enough to release the product in a timely fashion. Roberts addresses these "feature creep" concerns in a letter, saying "we don’t commit to adding features that would hold up the game’s ability to go 'live' in a fully functional state." Despite these assurances, I have doubts that the game's final release will stay on track for next year.
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