In an industry-defining case study of ambitious game development, the space exploration title Star Citizen continues to make the headlines. Despite still being in development, Star Citizen has amassed a staggering $800 million in crowdfunding thus far, primarily fuelled by selling in-game spacecraft, some of which are priced in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. However, recent decisions by the developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) have sparked a wave of backlash from even their most loyal supporters.
The controversy emerged with CIG’s latest offering — a new set of in-game items called Flight Blades. These items, like accessories in roleplaying games, are designed to enhance specific attributes of a player’s spaceship, such as speed and manoeuvrability. Unlike similar items in the past, however, these new upgrades are locked behind a real-money paywall.
Predictably, this move triggered swift criticism from the community. Fans accused CIG of crossing a line, veering dangerously close to a pay-to-win model many dislike. Discontent spread quickly across various community hubs, including the official Star Citizen forums, where players voiced their frustration and threatened to withhold further financial support.
CIG was quick to respond to the backlash. In a statement, the developer attributed the decision to their heavy focus on major game updates scheduled for this year, suggesting that the real-money exclusivity of the Flight Blades was not fully considered. They clarified that the same upgrades would eventually be made available for purchase using in-game currency.
To address the concerns, CIG announced that the release of the premium version of Flight Blades would be postponed to June 2025. This delay is intended to align with the launch of its in-game currency counterpart, ensuring both options are accessible simultaneously. Furthermore, CIG promised that any future releases with similar structures would always include both real-money and in-game currency purchasing options on the same day. This supposed U-turn hasn’t necessarily been enough.
“Flight blades were kept from players in PTU with complete radio silence from CIG only for them to pop up in the store once the patch hit LIVE,” said a forum user. “They wanted to cash in on the FOMO during Invictus, and have not changed course. This isn’t an act of goodwill, this is a non-apology and business-as-usual for CIG.”
“This is meant to be constructive, but you cannot keep the status quo and move up the in game part a little faster and act like you have solved the root of the problem,” another responded. “This is a bandaid to calm people down, but the root issue here is that you continue to sell more and more items in the game that have a wider impact on what a player would do day to day.”
Despite the controversy, Cloud Imperium Games remains committed to its vision for Star Citizen, although the studio has yet to provide any concrete release window for the game, a project that has now been in development for over 13 years.
