Cloud Imperium is under fire over a new Star Citizen ship component that launched in mid-May 2025. The controversial addition prompted some vocal fans to question the developer's game design decisions and monetization practices, in addition to raising concerns about the overall future of Star Citizen.
November 19 will mark the 13th anniversary of Star Citizen concluding its historic Kickstarter campaign, which raised a bit over $2.1 million from nearly 35,000 backers over a 30-day run ending in November 2012. Cloud Imperium quickly eclipsed that figure, with its project surpassing $100 million in total crowdfunding just two years later. As of 2025, Star Citizen commands a budget larger than Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077—combined—all while being nowhere near completion. The game's never-ending early access status is largely attributed to feature creep, with Cloud Imperium constantly expanding its roadmap.
Star Citizen hits another remarkable crowdfunding milestone despite having no official release day in sight after over a decade of development.
While Star Citizen updates remain popular enough to keep the game relevant and making nine figures a year, its latest content drop has been met with a significantly poorer-than-typical reception....
