Star Citizen has raised more than a billion dollars over its 13 years in development.
After Grand Theft Auto VI was estimated to have surpassed US$1 billion in production costs, another game has now joined the billion-dollar club. The long-awaited, yet still unreleased sci-fi simulation game Star Citizen, has officially crossed US$1.004 billion in funding, according to figures displayed on its official website.
The milestone was achieved after developer Cloud Imperium Games launched a wave of new in-game content as part of the DefenceCon in-game event yesterday, 24 May. The event proved to be a major commercial success, generating over US$6 million in just one hour and helping push the game past the historic benchmark.
The event introduced brand-new game packs, vehicles, and cosmetics for players–but the centrepiece was a US$5,000 vehicle that players cannot even use yet.
Star Citizen
Release Date: 23 December, 2017 (Early Access)
Platforms: Microsoft Windows only
Developer: Cloud Imperium Games
What is the US$5,000 Anvil Odin?
The US$5,000 Anvil Odin is a gigantic warship that has been put for sale, but isn’t actually out just yet. As described on the official site, it is a “limited vehicle concept pledge”, allowing players to purchase a work-in-progress ship while receiving a temporary loaner vehicle of similar size and functionality until the Anvil Odin is eventually added to the game.
The Anvil Odin is enormous in scale, capable of supporting up to 65 crew members. The destroyer vessel contains an entire ecosystem within it, featuring crew quarters, a canteen, a hospital, hangars, and much more.
Getting access to the ship is not as simple as making a purchase either. Players were required to apply for entry into the Odin Founders Club by explaining why they wanted the expensive spaceship.
Notably, the Anvil Odin costs 5,900 when purchased using Store Credit–an in-game currency earned by selling other ships–but is priced at 5,000 when bought directly with real money.
Players can head to the official page for a detailed breakdown of the unreleased five-grand spacecraft.
How Star Citizen’s production costs reached US$1 billion
Cloud Imperium Games’ development of Star Citizen has remained controversial for years. Since its announcement in 2013 and its early access launch in December 2017, the highly ambitious title has faced repeated delays and, to this day, still lacks a confirmed release date.
As a result, its extensive crowdfunding campaign has effectively never ended, fuelled by the ongoing sale of in-game content such as ships, cosmetics, and other digital items, all of which have continued to inflate the project’s development budget.
With more than US$1 billion now committed to Star Citizen, the game stands as one of the most expensive crowdfunded projects and one of the most expensive entertainment productions ever created.
While Star Citizen itself remains in a sort of limbo, Cloud Imperium Games has confirmed a release window for its single-player spin-off from the series, Squadron 42, which is scheduled to launch later this year.
