Cloud Imperium Games’ space sim, Star Citizen, has raised a crowdfunding total of nearly 900 million US Dollars.
The public funding tracker on the official Roberts Space Industries website (via CultureCrave on Twitter/X) now mentions that Star Citizen has now raised a crowdfunding total of over 885 million US Dollars. Fourteen years after its 2012 announcement, Cloud Imperium Games’ Star Citizen has become one of the most lucrative crowdfunded projects in history. The money is a combined sum of Kickstarter-era pledges, ongoing sales of early-access packages and in-game items, and private investment tied to the studio’s long-running public campaign.
Star Citizen began life as a heavily promoted Kickstarter and website campaign in October 2012, promising a sprawling, player-driven space sim. From the start the project framed itself as iterative and community-funded, a model that has kept backers engaged, and spending, through rolling stretch goals and new ship offerings. Despite that steady inflow of cash, the full game remains in development and is still distributed as an alpha/early-access experience rather than a finished product.
Reported totals passed 300 million US Dollars by mid-2020, 400 million US Dollars by late 2021 and 500 million US Dollars by September 2022, before later milestones of 800 million US Dollars and higher were reported during 2024 and 2025.
That long timeline and the never-ending road to a formal 1.0 release have developed a sharp split in public sentiment. Many backers remain fiercely loyal, celebrating each technical update and new in-game feature. On the other hand, critics and a vocal segment of the community have grown impatient, characterizing the project as one that’s stuck in development or heading towards being vaporware. The controversy has been amplified by monetization debates, including backlash over purchasable gameplay items, which have often raised questions about whether ongoing sales are delaying a conventional launch.
Star Citizen is currently available in Alpha for Windows PC.
