Has the line of greed been crossed? Star Citizen players make it clear what they think of devs’ latest idea

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Supporters of Star Citizen are feeling dismayed over the introduction of a new form of in-game purchases in Chris Robert’s ongoing space simulation game.

Is Star Citizen the costliest game ever made, considering the staggering $800 million raised from players alone is a remarkable figure? This amount is comparable to the extensive development period: an early version of Star Citizen was accessible as early as 2012. However, despite the developer’s assertion earlier this year that the project is “nearing completion more than ever,” no official launch date has been set yet (with Squadron 42 tentatively scheduled for release in 2026).

Pay-to-win in Star Citizen?

Thus far in the chronicles of Star Citizen (SC), there have been two consistent elements: leisurely weekends and substantial financial investments made by Roberts’ supporters. Starting now until May 27th, you can explore Star Citizen without any cost. Regarding the players’ expenditure, the staggering $800 million figure eloquently illustrates this point.

Conversely, numerous Star Citizen enthusiasts expressed frustration over Cloud Imperium Games’ latest concept of enhancing spaceship capabilities through items available in the in-game shop, which can only be obtained using real money, as opposed to in-game currency.

Yesterday, Flight Blades were unveiled as a means to modify the actions of my game hangar’s vessels. At the moment, I can enhance two aspects – agility and speed – across eight different models. However, down the line, we can expect more upgrades for a wider range of units.

Facebook developers emphasize that their updates offer “adjustable settings for fine-tuning the spaceship’s behavior, ensuring equal opportunities for all users rather than granting an unfair advantage to purchasers.

Pandora’s Box

It appears that many players have found these explanations difficult to accept. A quick glance at the comments beneath the original article and posts on social media shows a general lack of enthusiasm. While some players defend the creators by suggesting that the features might be added to the game in the future (“in 6 weeks”), others argue that these aren’t actual improvements, as they come at the cost of other ship statistics.

The vast majority of gamers find these assertions hard to accept. In their viewpoint, the microtransactions are undeniably pricey and unnecessary, as each ship in the game must be purchased individually, with the priciest ones going for approximately 30-43 dollars apiece. This isn’t the only content that requires payment upfront, as weapon kits – including bomb racks – also come at a cost. The claim that these items were merely temporarily concealed in the game store doesn’t seem persuasive to many players.

Although Flight Blades may have a small effect individually, their inclusion in the store is perceived as a potentially harmful precedent by many. Until this point, only ships needed to be bought, which remained an annoyance for some players. Now, CIG has started selling ship components, and it’s not without reason. Some people jokingly question what other items might be subjected to a charge next.

In Star Citizen, the players’ emotions are evident through a popular Reddit meme depicting a satirical store within the game. The store features in-game tokens for logging in and making new friends. Furthermore, this isn’t the sole instance where such ideas have been proposed.

Players found it particularly frustrating that this issue occurred during a game promotion event, which offered benefits such as a free week with Star Citizen, the ability to test multiple machines for 48 hours, and the introduction of a new unit (Aegis Idris Peacekeeper). As fans have expressed, CIG has once again disappointed them, not necessarily earning enthusiasm, but at least some level of approval.

Enthusiasts openly voice their discontent, often opting to take action financially. The main concern is if this financial boycott will truly result in change. History shows that grand gestures may not always affect the earnings of game developers and distributors.

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2025-05-16 15:32