"Release in five years": Star Citizen continues to suck money

The January issue of MCV/Develop features an interview with Cloud Imperium Games COO Carl Jones. The Star Citizen developer shared his plans and outlined the current state of affairs. What can we expect from the most ambitious MMORPG about space, which is still in the alpha-testing stage?

The multiplayer space RPG Star Citizen was announced ten years ago. Since then, 3.4 million people invested in its development, and the total budget exceeded 422 million dollars, making the game the most expensive in history. Nevertheless, it is too early to talk about the readiness of the project. Now you can buy and run the alpha version to visit several stations and planets, fly different starships, transport cargo and shoot bandits. But there's still no promised Squadron 42 story campaign featuring Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, and other Hollywood stars, many modes and features are unavailable, and the user experience is marred time and again by software bugs.

In an interview with MCV/Develop, Carl Jones said that Squadron 42 won't be released until five years from now, in 2027. In the meantime, the company is busy looking for offices and expanding its staff, although it already employs over 1,000 people (over 400 in England and about 750 around the world). The main emphasis, according to the chief operating officer, is the development of studios in Manchester and Frankfurt. Jones said that the main man at Cloud Imperium Games, Chris Roberts, spends a lot of time with Squadron 42 developers, who not only create the story itself, but also think about its sequels. Meanwhile, among gamers is still a popular opinion that a full-fledged release of Star Citizen is unlikely to ever take place, and all the promises are just a way to raise more money.