You know, as much as I’d like to just hate on something that I personally consider a scam, I’d rather just say that I really hope that everyone invested in the project is happy with what they’re getting out of it. Really, I do. There was a time when it looked like Star Citizen was going to usher in an era of crowd-funded AAA games, but thankfully it’s just turned out to be an anamoly. Now, the only people it’s potentially hurting are those who’ve been crowdfunding it.

As reported by SimulationDaily, Star Citizen has pulled in another $120 million in crowdfunding dollars in 2025, surpassing the previous record of $117 million from 2023 and setting the total money raised over the project’s lifetime at about $894 million dollars. Those are some absolutely insane numbers, especially considering that the project is still considered to be in pre-alpha. Think about that for a second. After thirteen years and darn near $900 million dollars raised, the thing is still only in the pre-alpha phase. What the heck is going on?

And yes, it must be said that there are playable portions of Star Citizen available. You can check out your ship in a dock. There is a station to run around in and there are planets to land on and even jobs to take on with your ship. However, what’s available is still just a bunch of separate portions of the larger whole that was promised way back in 2012. Where is the all-inclusive, massive, handcrafted space sim that so many people still (somehow) so fervently believe in? For that matter, where on earth is Squadron 42, the single player campaign that was also promised way back when?

The debate on whether Star Citizen is a scam has been ongoing, and yes I’m one of those that’s been calling it a scam. It’s not a scam in the sense that there’s no game, though. Obviously something is being made and there are pieces available to play. The “scam” is that its makers seem very content to just never finish the thing and keep collecting crowdfunding money. The goal seems to be perpetual development rather than actually turning out a finished product, and, if that’s the case, what happens when the money does inevitably dry up?

Its supporters aren’t infinite in number; it’s not a mainstream title, and most serious gamers consider the project a joke. The money is going to dry up, and it doesn’t even need to dry up by huge degreee to bring down the whole bloated operation. Will they actually ship a “good enough” project before then, or will they just blame their failure on “not having enough support” and leave fans with a mere pittance of what was promised? I hope it’s not the latter, and I hope it’s more than the former. After collecting hundreds of millions from thousands of true believers, the makers of Star Citizen owe their fans at least that much.

---

What’s your take on Star Citizen? Do you think they’ll actually deliver someday?

Image from the Star Citizen website