After having collected more than $ 800 million in his community, the Star Citizen developer delays the release of a new upgrade of the ship while players arise for this
The only more astonishing thing than Star Citizen’s ability to extract funds from his community is the eagerness with which said community has supported it. During thirteen years, Cloud Imperium Games collected more than $ 800 million from an alphabed alpha -access mixture paid, subscriptions, merchandising, microtransactions and sale of spaceships that cost players hundreds of dollars (I suppose you could call these “macrotransactions”).
Although there have been controversies and reactions on the game in the past, such as complaints concerning the changes in the roadmap, the community has rarely revolted in mass to the prospect of paying things. But the recent revelation of an upgrade for Star Citizen ships has finally led the community to raise a finger and say “hold a minute …”
The upgrade (or upgrades) in question are flight blades. These are designed to make ships faster or more handy (depending on the type of blades you choose). Ships upgrades like this can generally be purchased with real world money or the currency at the game of Star Citizen (named AUEC) and Cloud Imperium games apparently planned for this to be the case with the flight blades. However, when these upgrades were initially Added to the game, they could only Be purchased in difficult cash, costing between $ 9.60 and $ 42 depending on the set you bought.
Combined with the perceived advantage they have provided, this community of star citizens has led the community of citizenship to conclude flight blades was a pure and simple to win. The result was an explosive Backlash, with Cig’s Forum Post announcing the upgrade accumulating nearly 2,000 disconcerted responses. “It’s a[n] A real joke, there are 0 reason why they should not be in the game, “wrote the user Lolman345_, while the name Saltemike called for the introduction of the flight blades” the most embarrassing thing I saw this business “.
More interesting, however, are the answers of the players who openly admit that they are generally satisfied to pay things. Many players responding to the announcement refer to their eagerness for the Graycat MTC, a planetary exploration vehicle which costs $ 45. “I was going to buy the MTC. I don’t feel well now”, the Tagariuskhan user. Captn agrees. “I was also looking forward to MTC, I guess we write to vote with our wallet.”
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A day later, Cloud Imperium Games replied, explaining why the flight blades had been introduced as a purely bought article, and declaring that it was postponing the version of the upgrade to coincide with their availability thanks to the currency in the game. “Throughout the evolution of Star Citizen, a fundamental principle has remained paramount: all that you are committed to supporting our development Gameplay, “wrote the community director of Star Citizen, Tyler Witkin. “Your contribution helps get things done, but your time in the verse should also be rewarded.
Witkin then claimed that the reason why Cig had pressed the trigger too quickly on the flight blades because the developer has a busy year. “We are pushing 11 patches this year instead of 4. We crush more than ever bugs, creating more exciting content, moving faster than ever to make the persistent universe a better experience for everyone, and by moving quickly, we have missed a step.”
“To be clear, the new flight blades can be obtained for AUCE in our next patch in June. We have followed our usual approach by offering early access to the a guarantee to help support development.” Underlined Witkin. “But after a reflection, we decided that for smaller components such as flight blades or bombs, they should be available at the same time as they appear on the store.”
In light of the reaction, it seems to be the right decision. But it does not seem to have appeased the community, with discussions on the wider approach of Star Citizen in pursuit of prices in the comments below the CIG declaration: “The root problem here is that you continue to sell more and more articles in the game which have a wider impact on what a player would do day by day,” writes Saltemike. “The components should not be at all on the store. No matter later. People are angry because they are sold in any way for a real form or form,” adds Liana user.
As things arise, the flight blades will now be launched as a purchaseable and achievable articles in June, with Witkin stressing that “for future gameplay kit introductions, we will make sure that these items can be obtained at stake on the first day”. Meanwhile, the development of Star Citizen and his Spinoff Squadron 42 solo rumbles without any firm release date for either. Last year, Chris Roberts said he was “confident” that Squadron 42 will be launched in 2026, while in January, he said that Star Citizen was “closer than ever to realize a dream that many said is impossible” but was not more precise than that.
