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You Can Now Buy Claims For Land That Doesn't Exist Yet In Star Citizen
Five years after Star Citizen was announced, its faithful fans are still waiting for the game to graduate from the fragmented state of its current alpha build into something more cohesive. But while developer Roberts Space Industries works to deliver on the ever-expanding ambitions of its massively multiplayer space opera, it continues to explore new revenue streams.
Starting with Kickstarter and continuing via the sale of in-game items, RSI has raised more than $168 million for the development of Star Citizen. In addition to several amazing looking ships, skins, and hanger upgrades, now backers can invest in claim licenses for plots of land. The claims come in two varieties, a 4x4 km parcel that costs $50, or the $100 8x8 km estate. Most of the land on planets, moons, or asteroids are be available for acquisition. RSI says plots will eventually be purchasable via in-game currency players can earn as well.
There's just one catch – none of these areas are fully developed or available for scouting just yet.
To read more about this new crowdfunding endeavor, you can read the FAQ on the official site.
Our Take
The Star Citizen vision promises space combat, first-person shooting, a player-driven economy, and procedurally generated planets that players can visit, explore, and inhabit. The scale of this project is ridiculously ambitious to the point where it's easy for anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the game design process to question how this will ever come together in a cohesive manner. RSI wanting to keep the coffers full to pay for all these systems is understandable, but with little to show for their investment at this point, you have to wonder if the avid community will tire of waiting (or tire of the penny pinching) and abandon ship.
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