Even if you haven’t played Star Citizen, you’re likely aware of its legacy. It’s been in development for well over a decade – with an early access version of the game available to play – and has become one of the most highly-funded crowdfunding campaigns of all time. But now, the journey to a full release seems within grasp. Sort of.
According to a recent letter from the chairman and founder of Cloud Imperium Games, Chris Roberts, Star Citizen is on the path to 1.0, which the team considers “the features and content set to represent ‘commercial’ release.” The letter says this means “the game is welcoming to new players, stable, and polished with enough gameplay and content to engage players continuously.”
In other words, “it is no longer Alpha or Early Access,” as the developer continues on a roadmap that will see the fruition of multiple milestones for the Persistent Universe (the main module of the game).
Still a long journey ahead
To coincide with these plans to bring Star Citizen 1.0 to the fore, Cloud Imperium has initiated a re-organization, which includes having developers relocate to be “closer in time zone to our main development operations in Manchester, Frankfurt, and Montreal.”
There are also some words from Rich Tyrer, who recently became Senior Game Director. Tyrer has said his new role involves him “coming on board to help push Star Citizen to the next stage of its development, ultimately culminating in leaving early access and releasing the 1.0 version of the game.” However, there’s no release date for the long-awaited commercial release.
As of right now, Star Citizen has amassed a total of $672,037,749 in donated funds. Given this staggering figure, you’d be forgiven for understanding why a lot of fans have grown impatient waiting well over ten years for the game proper to launch.
