Summary
Star Citizenis walking back a controversial feature, announcing the release of its Flight Blade ship components for all players will be coming in June 2025. Flight Blades had been released inStar Citizenon May 15 exclusively through the game’s Pledge Store, but a day later, developer Cloud Imperium Games released a clarification following pay-to-win complaints from many of the game’s fans.
Facing one of the most historically lengthy alpha periods in gaming, the first build ofStar Citizenwas released nearly 12 and a half years ago. The game had already become themost successful crowdfunded project everby the middle of 2013, with more than $9 million raised at that time, and its backers have made even heavier investments since then, showing their dedication to the project.
One big item in the game’s latest update wasStar Citizen’s controversial addition of Flight Blades, a ship component type that allows players to boost either a ship’s speed or maneuverability at the cost of the other stat. Players were not upset with the components themselves but with how they were offered only through the Pledge Store, requiring additional pledge contributions of around $15 to $35 of real-world money, depending on ship type, instead of in-game currency. In amessage to fans, the developer has tried to appease players by letting them know that they will have access to Flight Blades through the in-game store soon, planning to make them available in the game’s monthly update patch in June. While players making additional donations through the Pledge Store have been offered early access to some other game features in the past, Cloud Imperium’s reflection on the recent update has led to its recent decision to make smaller components available to all players at the same time.
Star Citizen Quashes Pay-to-Win Controversy
The message notes that 2025 is going to be a big year forStar Citizen. DespiteCloud Imperium’s layoffslate last year, the developer has plans to release a total of 11 patches forStar Citizenin 2025 instead of the four that are released during most years. Seeming to ask forgiveness for the early release of Flight Blades and the resulting backlash from fans, the developer states, “in moving that fast, we missed a step.”
Throughout its development cycle,Star Citizenhas relied solely on crowdfunding, recently surpassing $800 million raised, so keeping its fan base satisfied has been a key factor in Cloud Imperium’s development model. While the initial goal stated that just $20 million would be required for its completion, there is still no release date forStar Citizen’s full version in sight, though the recent ramp-up in development is providing hope to some fans.
