The new space sim being developed by the creator of Wing Commander and Privateer has attracted more than 183,000 pledges.
The PC-based space sim is a pretty niche genre, but it’s a niche that appears quite happy to throw money at what it wants. And while Roberts hasn’t been terribly active in the game design business over the last decade or so, he is the man who gave us Wing Commander and thus has a certain degree of everlasting cred among those of us who like to yank-and-bank in the cold void of space.
Star Citizen was a big hit on Kickstarter last year, earning more than $2.1 million over 30 days, but the real impact has come by way of the ongoing campaign at the Star Citizen website, which has now brought the total funding amount to just a hair over $10 million. Roberts described the support of fans as “nothing short of phenomenal” and said that fundraising efforts will continue.
“In another week we’ll be unveiling new pictures and a special promotional sale for yet another ship in Star Citizen complete with sales brochure and commercial video. And at the end of the month we’ll be launching our new Star Citizen website that will have a more robust e-commerce system that allows fans to upgrade and modify their pledges, purchase add-ons and manage account info,” Roberts said. “And it’s going to better represent the world of Star Citizen, so it’s going to look amazing.”
Hitting the $10 million mark means Roberts Space Industries, the studio making the game, will add an Optitrack Motion Capture system to its arsenal. I have no idea why RSI needs a motion capture system to make a space flight simulator, but the studio promised that all will be revealed in the coming weeks. And hey, it’s Chris Roberts – if he says he needs a motion capture studio to make a new space game, that’s good enough for me.
